


Seasons

by JacksonCalico



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Bumbleby Big Bang 2020, F/F, Fluff, farm au, no angst only bees vibing on a farm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:20:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 35,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27526009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JacksonCalico/pseuds/JacksonCalico
Summary: Blake has recently moved back in with her parents after a rather violent breakup. Kali insists that she goes along with Ghira to visit a local farm, where she meets Yang, the farmer's oldest daughter and Patch's local recluse.One year, that's what she had told her parents when she moved in with them. She'd take one year to get back on her feet and then return to the city.But maybe a certain farmer can convince her that living in the middle of nowhere isn't so bad after all.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Penny Polendina/Ruby Rose
Comments: 23
Kudos: 211
Collections: Bumbleby Big Bang 2020





	1. Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my piece for the Bumbleby Big Bang! I had a really fun time writing this and thanks to the mods for organizing everything. 
> 
> Go check out my partner's, Klaydraws, work! They worked really hard and did a great job :)  
> https://klaydraws.tumblr.com/post/634606819011149824/this-is-a-scene-from-calicojackson576-s-great

The last thing Blake expected to do when she moved to Patch, was go to a farm.

But there she was, sitting in the front passenger seat of her dad's car, watching the buildings of Patch trickle off into tall trees and wide-open fields, her fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest of her seat as an old country song played on the radio.

That morning had passed by in a blur, a mess of talking and enthusiastic head nods that Blake could barely recall. She remembers waking up and briefly having breakfast with her mother, before being whisked away by her father to go visit one of the town’s farms. 

Ghira Belladonna had made it his mission since moving to Patch to get comfortable with some of the town residents, with the farmers and local business owners being his top priority as people he needed to meet. Ghira was a politician, and if he wanted even a chance at being successful, he needed to get to know the people he was hoping to represent.

And upon hearing that the man Ghira was visiting today had two daughters around Blake’s age, Kali insisted that she go with him. Blake knew her mother’s intent wasn’t ill, but she couldn’t help but feel betrayed. They had promised her time alone, to recover from what had happened. 

Maybe they had decided that six months had been enough.

The car bounced slightly as it took a turn onto a long dirt road, and Blake shook her head to clear any dark thoughts that had manifested in her head, glancing over at her father. He hadn’t said much about where they were going, or about the man he was going to see. 

“Who exactly are we going to meet?” She asked quietly, fingers shifting to idly pick at a loose thread on her jeans.

Ghira kept his eyes trained on the road as he replied. “A man named Taiyang Xiao Long. He owns a farm and runs it with his two daughters. Him and his youngest are well known around here.”

Blake’s ear twitched nervously. “What about his oldest? You said he had two daughters.”

Ghira sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t know much about her. Someone in town said that they haven’t seen her around much in the past couple of years.”

“That’s a little unsettling.” Blake felt a twinge of uneasiness, choosing to ignore the hypocrisy of her statement.

It seems like Blake and the eldest daughter had a common pastime of avoiding their neighbors and the public eye. 

Ghira grunted, but didn’t respond, and they continued along the dirt road in silence.

The car passed under a large wooden archway. ‘Xiao Long-Rose Farm’ was carved in big bold letters on the aging wood, carefully crafted, but showing its years in the weathered markings across the oak.

The trees started to thin out around them as they continued down the road, towards a large wooden farmhouse. A long porch wrapped around the front of the house and along the side, an old porch swing swaying gently in the wind. A beat-up red pickup truck was parked at the end of the driveway, the sun glinting off of the painted metal. 

Blake could barely see an old, red barn farther back on the property, partially hidden behind the house. A paint horse grazed in an enclosed field nearby, paying the approaching car little to no attention at all as it passed by. 

Ghira pulled up beside the pickup, turned off the car, and sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

“I know your mother and I want you to meet new people, but… you don’t have to come with me if you’re not ready. I can roll the windows down and you can stay in the car if you want.” He said quietly, turning to look at her, a clear hopefulness in his eyes.

A part of her wanted to stay in the car, but Blake knew what that meant. That after all these months, he would still be controlling her. She’d spent so much time suffering under his control, and sometimes it still felt like he was still there, looming over her with that same condescending smirk on his face.

But Adam was gone. He couldn’t control her, not anymore.

“No, I’ll come with.” Blake said, unbuckling her seatbelt, ignoring the surprise that flashed across Ghira’s face, quickly covered by a small, caring smile as he followed suit.

The horse lifted its head to stare at Blake as she left the car, watching her through big beady eyes as she slammed the car door shut.

It lost interest in Blake as she and her father made their way over to the house and up the porch steps, the stairs making quiet creaking noises under their weight. 

Blake hung back near the porch railing as her father knocked on the door, looking back behind herself at the horse again. It wasn't looking at her anymore, continuing it's grazing without another glance in her direction.

"I don't know if anyone will answer." Ghira said, following her gaze over to the horse. "They might be out working."

But Blake's ears perked up moments later at the sound of movement in the house, and she turned her attention over to the door as footsteps approached.

The door opened, revealing a girl with dark, red-tipped hair and silver eyes. She wore a red flannel over her shoulders and a plain white t-shirt tucked into a pair of jeans. 

"Hi," She said with a little wave. "You're the Belladonnas, right?"

Her eyes were cheerful and friendly, and her demeanor was relaxed, which helped put Blake at ease as the stranger smiled brightly at them.

"Yep," Ghira said, reaching out for a polite handshake. "I'm Ghira Belladonna, and this is my daughter, Blake. I'm here to see Taiyang."

Blake waved awkwardly at the girl, watching her carefully. She seemed nice enough.

"I'm Ruby Rose. It's nice to meet you."

"Is your father home?" Ghira asked, and Ruby nodded, stepping out onto the porch and closing the front door behind her.

"He's out back."

Ruby practically hopped down the stairs, gesturing at them to follow her around the house and further onto the property.

She had a skip in her step as she led them over to the stables, arms swinging cutely at her sides, movements full of a youthful enthusiasm. 

The barn doors were wide open, and Blake could see horse stables along the wall, hay strewn about the floor and tools leaned against a wall in the far left corner, near a door that probably led to a storage room. It was a stable, not a barn.

Ruby poked her head into the stable and called out to someone inside. "Hey sis!"

"Yeah?" Someone called back, and a young blonde woman stepped out of the storage room, and Blake felt her breath hitch in her throat.

Long blonde hair flowed freely down her back, a purple flannel over broad shoulders that matched her eyes, fabric pulled taunt around her biceps as the woman crossed her arms. Similar to Ruby, she wore a tight white t-shirt tucked into a pair of worn and fading jeans, dark boots, and a purple bandana wrapped around her left knee.

She was pretty. Really pretty.

"Where's dad?" Ruby said to the blonde woman as she dusted her hands off and removed a pair of dark work gloves. "He has visitors."

"Should be by the garden." The blonde woman told her, and Ruby nodded, darting away to go fetch her father.

The blonde woman stepped out of the building, pausing to pat a buckskin mare on the nose as she walked past one of the stables, shoving her gloves into her back pocket as she approached them.

"Ghira Belladonna." Blake's father introduced, sticking his hand out for a handshake. 

"Yang Xiao Long." The blonde woman replied, shoulders slightly tense but voice relaxed, and Blake saw her father's eyes snap down to their joined hands for a brief moment, but his large frame hid their hands and Blake couldn't see what he was looking at.

Yang glanced around behind Ghira, and Blake's eyes locked with hers, and Yang's eyes widened in awe, shoulders relaxing slightly and back straightening.

'She has freckles.' Blake thought as her eyes roamed across Yang's body again, her gaze drifting upwards to settle on the other woman's face and the light dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks. 'Cute.'

"This is my daughter Blake." Ghira settled his hand on Blake's shoulder, and Blake was startled out of her daze, waving awkwardly.

Yang nodded numbly, and she raised her left hand to return Blake's shy wave, right hand slipping deep into the pocket of her jeans.

Ruby appeared from around the corner, a tall man with sandy blond hair following closely behind her.

Blake’s eyes shifted back over to Yang as her father and the other man started to converse, not at all paying attention to the words being spoken right next to her, freezing slightly when she noticed the blonde’s eyes already on her.

Yang smiled sheepishly, face tinting red at being caught staring, her eyes dropping to stare at the ground in embarrassment. Ruby nudged Yang’s arm, whispering something into her ear, and Yang flushed brighter, elbowing Ruby sharply in the ribs. 

Blake jumped when a large hand gently made contact with her shoulder, looking up to see her father smiling at her softly. 

“We’re going to head to the house to talk for a bit. Are you going to be okay staying out here?”

Blake hesitated, gaze flickering over to Yang and Ruby and the small carefree smiles on their faces, before nodding slowly. “Yeah… I’ll be fine.”

Her father’s smile widened and he patted her on the shoulder, turning and leaving with the blond man, Taiyang Xiao Long. 

Blake returned her attention over to the sisters, ears twitching back slightly. Ruby took a small step towards her, practically bouncing on her feet. 

“Hi.” Ruby said quietly, and Blake whispered a little hello in return, ears twitching again, eyes flicking over to Yang, who shifted on her feet awkwardly. 

A soft neigh from the stables stole Yang’s attention away from them, and the blonde turned around and left, slipping her gloves out of her pocket and heading back into the building to tend to the horse. 

“Wanna meet the horses?” Ruby asked, and Blake’s gaze danced between the shorter girl and the stables. 

Yang appeared at the entrance of the stables before Blake could respond, holding a book in her hand. “Hey Ruby, you left one of your books in here again!”

Ruby darted over to her sister, grabbing the book and heading back over to Blake, brushing hay and dust off of the cover, grumbling to herself.

“Do you read a lot?” Blake asked quietly, peering over Ruby’s shoulder to look at the cover. 

“Yeah,” Ruby said, turning the book over in her hands, checking for damage. “I like to bring books into the stables sometimes, but I keep forgetting to take them with me when I leave.”

“The Brothers Grimm?” Blake read the title aloud, eyeing the book with interest. It had a well worn red leather cover, carefully engraved with some of the names of the stories inside. 

“Yep.” Ruby said, running her hands over the leather. “Yang got it for me last year for my birthday.”

“Do you like to read?” Ruby asked, and Blake nodded, thoughts briefly drifting to the large collection of books she had in her room at her parents’ house, still packed away in cardboard boxes.

“Not really a fan of fairy tales though.” Blake admitted, but Ruby smiled anyway, eyes lighting up.

Blake’s ears swiveled towards the stables at the sound of movement coming from inside, and Ruby glanced up from the book in her hands.

“Are you bringing one of the horses out?” Ruby called, and Yang called an affirmative back out at her. Ruby took a step back and beckoned Blake to follow her to the fence of a nearby paddock. 

“Have you ever been around a horse before?” Ruby asked, hopping up to sit on the fence, book resting in her lap, legs swinging slightly. 

Blake shook her head, and Ruby smiled reassuringly after seeing the slightly nervous look on her face.

“She’s probably bringing out Ember, so don’t worry. She’s an absolute sweetheart.”

Blake looked back over at the stables at the sound of hooves approaching, and Yang appeared in the doorway, guiding a large buckskin mare out of the building. 

Ruby hopped down from the fence, and turned to Blake, holding her book out. “Can you hold this for me?”

Blake accepted the book from her, turning it around in her hands, fingers gliding over the cover. The old leather was rubbed thin in some places, rough where the area around it was still smooth. 

Blake looked back over at Ruby at the sound of the gate’s lock being unlatched and opened, allowing Yang to guide the buckskin mare into the paddock. 

Yang slipped the halter off of the horse’s head once they were in the paddock, patting the mare softly on the side of her neck and locking the gate behind her as she joined Blake and Ruby by the fence. 

The buckskin mare paid them little attention as she started wandering the paddock, dark tail swishing behind her and mane ruffled in the slight breeze. 

“That’s Ember Celica.” Ruby told Blake, taking her book back and leaning against the fence.

“My pride and joy.” Yang said, watching the horse graze with a fond smile. 

“Do you guys have a lot of horses?” Blake asked, peeking behind herself to look at the stables again.

Ruby shrugged. “We have four right now, but sometimes we get rescues.” 

“Most of the horses are in their stables if you want to go see them.” Yang said, pointing a thumb back behind them. “Ruby can show you.”

Blake shook her head, looking down at the ground. “I’m good, thank you.”

Ember slowly made her way towards them, stopping at the edge of the fence in front of Yang, sticking her large head over the wood towards the blonde. 

Blake was momentarily startled by the softness in Yang's eyes, a gentle kindness that Blake did not expect to come from the strong stranger. 

Yang pat the mare on the nose again, smiling softly, and turning her head to look at Blake. “Want to pet her?”

Blake eyed the horse warily, but took a step forward anyway, steeling her nerves and moving to stand in front of the mare. 

“Ember, this is Blake.” Yang said quietly, shifting her hand to rub the side of the horse’s powerful neck. 

“Hi.” Blake whispered, patting the horse gently on the nose, smiling to herself when the mare leaned into her touch. 

The horse pulled away from the fence at the sound of footsteps approaching, and Blake looked over to see her father and Taiyang return. 

“Did you two behave?” Taiyang asked, ruffling Ruby’s hair, laughing when she grumbled and swatted his hand away. 

“Blake,” Her father said, resting his hand on her shoulder again. “Are you ready to go?”

Blake nodded, and Ruby pulled away from Taiyang, slipping her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. “Can I have your phone number?”

Blake hesitated for a moment, before removing her phone from her pocket and relaying her number to Ruby. 

It wouldn’t hurt to have a friend, the first Blake would have in this town of strangers. Ruby was nice, and she liked to read, so Blake didn’t mind having the younger girl as her friend, even if she seemed to be easily excited. 

Ruby Rose, daughter of a farmer, sister of the town’s supposed recluse, and Blake’s first friend in Patch.

\--

“What did you think?”

Blake buckled her seat belt, eyes flashing up and over to her father. "What do you mean?"

"What did you think of the family? How were Tai's daughters?" Ghira asked, starting the car and backing up. "They seemed pretty friendly."

"Ruby was nice." Blake turned on her phone and added Ruby to her contacts, mouth twitching into a smile at the excited jumble of words that were Ruby's first few texts. "Her sister was kind of quiet though, but she did let me pet one of the horses."

Ghira hummed, and they turned back onto the main road, falling into a comfortable silence as Blake leaned her head against the window, leaving the Xiao Long-Rose farm behind them.

\--

"Soooooo-"

"Don't you dare even start Ruby."

Yang ignored her sister's pout, hanging Ember's halter back up in the supply room, turning around and brushing past Ruby to go back into the stables.

"Aw come on Yang, you don't even know what I was going to say."

Yang raised an eyebrow at her sister, and Ruby sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck and followed Yang out of the supply room.

"Okay, but in my defense we all noticed you staring at her."

Yang blushed, glaring at Ruby when she smirked. “I wasn’t staring…”

She had definitely been staring, had definitely been enraptured by the quiet faunus woman that had visited the farm that morning. 

Blake Belladonna.

Even now, hours later, Yang can still remember bright golden eyes and short black hair, expressive cat ears and a shy smile.

Yang sighed, knowing she couldn’t deny the accusations for much longer, not when Ruby was so adamant on tormenting her. “Ok so maybe I was staring, but it’s not my fault she was pretty.”

Ruby laughed, darting away when Yang good-naturedly swiped at her. “It's just nice to hear you admit it, sis.” 

“Shut the hell up Ruby.”

\--

"Blake, sweetie?"

Blake's ears swiveled in the direction of her mother’s voice, looking up from the cardboard box she was sifting through. "Yeah?"

"Oh!" Kali opened Blake's bedroom door wider, stepping into the room and looking around at all the boxes strewn across the floor. "What're you doing?"

"Unpacking." Blake glanced down at the box in front of her, idly tapping her fingers against the cardboard. "Figured it was time I finally got around to doing it."

"Do you want any help?"

"No," Blake took a deep breath, forcing down old memories that threatened to consume her as she looked around her room, at all the boxes littering the floor. "I'm good."

"Ok," Kali briefly kneeled down beside her, wrapping her arms around her in a gentle hug. "Just call me if you need anything." 

Blake sighed, ears folding back as her mother left, closing the door shut behind herself. She lifted a hand and ran it through her hair, momentarily caught off guard when her fingers slipped into thin air just above her shoulders, not yet used to the new, shorter length. 

Right, she cut her hair when she came to Patch, had taken a pair of scissors to her black locks one lonely night during her first week in her new home. 

_‘Temporary home.’_ She reminded herself for what seemed like the hundredth time since her arrival. _‘This isn’t permanent.’_

One year, that’s how long she would be staying in Patch, with her parents. Twelve months to get back on her feet before returning to Vale in the spring. 

One year in a small, middle of nowhere town, north of the bustling city she used to call home, a city that held so many memories for her, more bad than good. 

Patch was so different from Vale. It was quieter, spread apart, small and unassuming in every sense of the word. Half of the time when she would step outside, she'd look up and expect to see towering skyscrapers instead of a bright blue, cloudless sky. 

She never thought she'd miss the noise of the city, but she's having trouble sleeping without it. Something about the silence of Patch's nights unnerves her after years of car honks and roaring engines.

She doesn't know if she'll ever get used to living here, not after so many years spent surrounded by constant noise and commotion.

A moment of stability, that's what this was, her move to Patch. An opportunity to let herself heal after years of hurt and abuse.

Blake's phone vibrated in her pocket, and she pulled it out to find an incoming text from her newest contact.

Ruby Rose, the daughter of a local farmer, Blake's first friend in the little town she now called home. 

And as she responded to Ruby's message, the dark shadow that had been looming over her for the past couple of weeks seemed to fade for a brief moment. 

Maybe living in Patch wouldn't be so bad after all.

\--

Ruby knocks on Yang's bedroom door a couple of days after they meet Blake, phone in hand and still dressed in her pajamas.

"I invited Blake over, just wanted to let you know before she got here."

Yang glanced up from her phone, looking her sister up and down, quirking an eyebrow at her. "You gonna change first?"

Ruby glared at her. "I'm gonna take a shower. Can you get the door for me if she gets here and I'm not done yet?"

Yang swung her legs over the side of her bed, standing with a stretch, groaning at the popping noises her back made. "Yeah sure Rubes, go take a shower or whatever."

"Thanks Yang."

“No problem.”

\--

Blake waved goodbye to her mother as she climbed up the porch steps, hand sliding along the worn wooden railing as the steps creaked under her weight. 

Ruby had invited her back over to the farm, with the promise of a movie and a relaxing afternoon.

But it wasn't Ruby that answered the door when she knocked, but her blonde beauty of a sister, Yang Xiao Long.

She was clad in a loose orange tank top and a pair of black shorts, strong, toned legs and arms on full display for Blake to see. A brightly painted prosthetic was where most of her right arm should have been, scar tissue peeking out from underneath the metal on her mid-bicep.

Yang ran her metal hand through her long blonde hair, lilac eyes watching Blake carefully as she stepped back to give the faunus room to enter the house.

"Ruby!" Yang called out, and a soft 'I'm coming' sounded from upstairs, footsteps sliding across the flooring upstairs. 

Blake shuffled quietly inside the house, unbelievably nervous to be in a new environment, with someone she barely knew, watching Yang warily as she closed the door behind her. 

Ruby practically jumped down the stairs, her hair slightly damp and obscuring one of her eyes, a pair of glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, her usual bright smile on her face. "Hey Blake!"

The sound of nails clicking against the floor halted any greeting Blake was going to give, her entire body tensing as heavy panting reached her ears. 

A small black, grey, and white corgi bounced over to them, small stubby tail wagging happily and pink tongue lolling out of his mouth.

Yang scooped the small dog up into her arms before he could investigate Blake, holding onto the corgi tightly as he wriggled to escape her grasp.

"I'm taking Zwei out." Yang said to Ruby, gaze briefly flickering over to Blake as she adjusted her grip on the dog and started to walk towards the back of the house. "Stay out of trouble."

Ruby beckoned Blake upstairs and to her room, happily hopping up the stairs without a care in the world, passing by dozens of pictures that Blake barely got the chance to look at.

Ruby’s room was bigger than her own, but somehow twice as crowded. A bookshelf was against one of the walls, completely filled with books and video game cases. Her desk was a mess of textbooks, pens, pencils, erasers, and the wastebasket next to her desk was overflowing with crumpled pieces of paper.

Ruby flopped onto her bed, which was covered in blankets and pillows, and pulled a red laptop into her lap. 

"We lost the remote for the tv downstairs." Ruby told her, opening her laptop. "I was thinking we could just watch something on my laptop if that's okay with you."

"That's fine." Blake said, hesitantly sitting down next to Ruby, slipping her shoes off of her feet, the mattress sinking slightly under her weight. 

They picked an old animated movie to watch, settling down onto the many pillows and blankets and making themselves comfortable as it started to play on the screen.

It had been years since Blake last hung out with someone like this, and she missed it, being able to just sit with a friend and watch a movie without having to worry about him intruding.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Ruby asks hours later as the credits roll following the third movie, glancing outside of her window to look at the quickly darkening sky.

"No thank you." Blake says, anxiety resting heavily in her chest at the thought of intruding on the Xiao Long-Roses any longer. "Mom wants me home to help with dinner."

It's a lie, but the false excuse helps calm Blake's nerves, puts her a little more at ease as she checks her phone and texts her mother.

Blake slips her shoes back on a couple of minutes later, listening to Ruby ramble about one of the movies they had watched, smiling slightly at the younger girl's exaggerated moments and enthusiasm.

The corgi from earlier perks his head up when he sees them come down the stairs, and Blake freezes when he jumps up and off of the couch, coming over to them as quickly as his little legs could carry him.

Ruby picks the small dog up, holding him close smiling. "I'm gonna take Zwei out back real quick. You can wait out on the porch until I get back if you want."

Blake nods, and Ruby turns around, taking the wriggling dog with her to the back door and outside, leaving her all alone.

At least she thinks she's alone, until she opens the front door and freezes in the doorway when she sees someone else already standing there, leaning against the railing and looking up at the night sky.

Yang looks back as Blake slowly steps onto the porch, smiling awkwardly at her before returning her attention to the setting sun.

"Where's Ruby?" Yang asks as Blake leans against the railing a couple of feet away from her.

"She took the dog out back." 

Yang hummed, metal fingers drumming softly against wood, light from the sun reflecting off of the smooth surface of her arm and bathing the yellow paint in a faded orange color. Blonde eyebrows are scrunched together, deep in thought, fingers stilling slightly in their tapping.

"Are you scared of me?"

The question is uttered so quietly and suddenly that it catches Blake off guard, and she turns to look at the woman next to her. “What?”

“Are you scared of me?” Yang repeated, slightly louder than before, hand curling into a fist, her eyes focused on the wooden railing. "You're fine with Ruby, but you were so nervous around me and I was just wondering if it was because of me-"

"No." Blake whispered, cutting the blonde off, and Yang pauses, blinking at her with wide lilac eyes that feel like they're staring right through her.

Blake wasn't scared of Yang. She was nervous, uneasy, to be around someone new, but she wasn't scared.

She knew what it was like to be scared of someone. 

"I'm… a little uneasy around new people." Blake said quietly, shifting on her feet. "It's been a long time… since I could trust strangers."

 _'You can't trust them.'_ Adam had whispered to her once, hand too tight around hers. _'Their kindness is fake. They just want to use you.'_

Adam had told her not to trust strangers, not to trust anyone who wasn't _him_ , but he had been so wrong about so many other things. 

Maybe he was wrong about this too.

And Yang’s eyes grew soft, and Blake was once again startled at the kindness in her eyes, a calm gentleness Blake never expected to ever be directed at her. 

Yang was what Adam had warned her about, a stranger showing her kindness for no apparent reason, someone she couldn't trust.

But Blake found no reason not to trust her, found no more reasons to listen to him.

Blake wasn't going to let him control her anymore.

\--

Yang tore her gaze away from Blake at the sound of Ruby’s rapid footsteps approaching. 

Ruby slid around the corner, breathing heavily, but a wide smile on her face. “Hey guys!”

“Stop yelling Ruby.” 

“Do you have to yell?”

Yang glanced at Blake, smiling at the tiny smirk on her face. 

“You two suck.” Ruby glared at both of them, stomping over and flopping against the railing next to her sister. “I leave for five minutes and you’re already plotting against me.”

Blake leaves a couple of minutes later, waving goodbye to the sisters as she slid into the front passenger seat of her mother’s car, and Ruby takes it as an opportunity to lean into Yang's side with a teasing grin.

"Soooooo-"

"Ruby no-"

"I see you and Blake got to know each other a little."

Yang groaned, bringing a hand up to rub her face. "Ruby…"

"I'm going to assume that this means that you won't mind me inviting her over more often."

"Ruby please."

"You did this to yourself."

\--

_‘Are you scared of me?’_

Blake sighed, shifting underneath her bedsheets and rolling over onto her other side.

She couldn't stop thinking about her interaction with Yang on the porch.

_'Are you scared of me?'_

Adam has asked her that question before, had asked her it many times and always expecting the same answer.

_'Are you scared of me?'_

He had always asked in with the same cadence in his voice, a tone that always meant he knew the answer but wanted to hear what she had to say.

_'Are you scared of me?'_

He knew she was scared of him, could see it in every flinch, in every small mannerism, in every carefully crafted sentence, in everything she did around him.

Maybe he wanted Blake to deny it, like she did every time he asked. To tell him that she wasn't scared of him.

_'Are you scared of me?'_

There was little a dead man could do to scare her now, but even though Adam lays cold beneath the earth, she's still scared sometimes. 

Scared of the influence the things he said had on her, scared when she sees flashes of red and black in her dreams, scared of the things that reminded her of him.

_'Are you scared of me?'_

Adam had scared her so many times before, but he was gone, and she was safe.

Blake didn't want to be scared anymore.

\--

**Ruby**  
**July 14**  
**8:21 am**

**Ruby**  
Hey Blake  
Want to come over  
Dad says I actually have to do work today but you can come over and help out if you want

 **Blake**  
Sure

Blake turned to look at her mother, dropping her phone down onto the kitchen table. "Hey mom?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"Can I go over to Ruby's?"

Kali smiled, shaking her head. "You're twenty-four Blake, you don't need to ask me for permission to go over to your friend's house."

"You're the one with the car, mom. I'm not just going to take it without asking.."

Kali laughed, gesturing at Blake with her spoon. "You got me there. Finish breakfast and get dressed, then I'll drive you over."

"Thanks mom."

"No problem sweetie."

\--

"You know I'm happy, that you're making friends here."

Blake turned her head to look at her mother, ears flicking. "Did you think I wouldn't?"

Kali shook her head. "No, not at all. It's just nice to see you happy again. I missed it."

Blake smiled sadly, leaning her head against the car window to stare at the many rolling fields of the crops they passed on their way to the Xiao Long-Rose Farm.

"I missed it too."

\--

Ruby was waiting on the porch for Blake, sitting on the old porch swing and looking at something on her phone with a smile.

Ruby jumped up as she saw Blake approach, smiling brightly and slipping her phone into her back pocket. "Hey Blake!"

She was wearing a loose black tank top and well-worn jeans, a pair of sunglasses tucked into the collar, and she had a half sleeve of tattoos on her left arm that Blake had never noticed before. 

Ruby practically ran down the porch steps, stopping in front of Blake and bouncing on her feet. "Dad wants us to help Yang with the horses today. She's already in the stables."

Blake followed Ruby over to the stables, curiously slowly getting the better of her as she examined the younger girl's left arm. "I didn't know you had tattoos."

"Oh yeah!" Ruby lifted her arm up so Blake could get a better view of the red roses and thorns inked across her shoulder and bicep. "I got them done last year. Dad almost had a heart attack when he saw."

Ruby says that last part with a mischievous gleam in her eyes, and Blake can only imagine Taiyang's horrified reaction to his younger daughter coming home with half of her arm covered in tattoos.

Ruby stepped into the stables, and Blake followed her into the large building, looking around the structure curiously. It was the first time she had ever stepped foot inside of it.

Horse stables ran along the walls, eight in total, but only four appeared to currently be in use, matching up with the amount of horses that called the farm home. A supply room and a tack room were in the back, labeled in cursive writing on old wooden signs, one of the doors shut with a heavy-looking lock and the other wide open.

One of the used stables along the left was empty, the stall door swung wide open and in the process of being cleaned from the looks of it.

Yang peeked out of one of the stalls on the right side to look at them as they entered, stepping out of the horse stable, this one belonging to Ember Celica if the sign on the door had anything to say about it, wiping her hands off on her jeans and jabbing a metal finge4.

"Dad said you had to go feed the chickens." She told Ruby, and the younger girl groaned loudly. "And don't even think about complaining, I had to do it yesterday."

"Fine. Blake, you stay here with Yang, I'll be back soon." Ruby left the stables, muttering under her breath, and Blake turned to look at Yang.

"Hey." 

"Hi."

Blake shifted awkwardly on her feet, and Yang hesitantly gestured at her to come over to the stall.

"Ember and Crescent are already taken care of." Yang told her, patting the buckskin mare on the nose and gesturing to the next stall over. "We just need to get them out into the paddock so we can clean their stalls."

Blake glanced behind herself at the fourth occupied stall, and an old black stallion stared back at her, grey and white fur tipping his muzzle. "What about him?"

"Harbinger? Uncle Qrow said he'd take care of him later."

Yang stepped away from Ember's stall, unlocking the locked track room and returning with a halter and lead. 

She slipped the halter over the mare's head, attaching the lead and gesturing for Blake to step back, opening the stall door and guiding Ember out of the stables. Blake stepped forward to walk next to Yang, following her over to the paddock closest to the stables.

"Can you get the paddock gate for me?" Yang asked, and Blake quickly unlatched the gate, pulling it open and watching Yang take the mare inside.

"And we do the same thing for Crescent?" Blake asked as Yang took off Ember's halter and lead, closing the gate and leading the way back to the stables.

"Yep." Yang said, and they came to a stop in front of the other occupied stall on the right side of the stables. 

A dark chestnut painted mare stood inside the stall, Crescent Rose written on the outside sign of her stall in a child's handwriting. It was the same horse that had been out in the field during Blake's first visit to the farm with her father. 

"Crescent is Ruby's horse." Yang told Blake as she slipped the halter on, before grumbling under her breath. "I swear she loves this horse more than she loves me."

Blake laughed at that, and Yang flashed her a quick smile, and they repeated the process of taking Crescent Rose out into the paddock. 

Ruby came back as Yang was removing the halter and lead, smiling at the pair before she leaned against the fence, cooing softly at her horse. 

Yang gave Blake a look, raising an eyebrow and shaking her head, and Blake laughed.

It felt nice to be able to laugh with someone again, and Blake didn't know how much she missed it until she was standing there, with Yang, laughing with her at Ruby's expense.

It was nice to have people she could laugh with again. 

\--

“Hey Blake.”

“Hey Ruby.”

Ruby opened the front door wider to let Blake inside, and Blake breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped into the air-conditioned house. 

The summer heat had turned rather harsh recently, and any break from the sweltering sun was a welcomed one.

"I was thinking we could watch a movie again, cause it's too hot to go outside and do anything." Ruby said to Blake as she removed her shoes in the entryway, yawning slightly. "Sorry there's not a lot to do around here."

"It's okay." Blake said, ears flicking as her shoes joined the other pairs lined up near the door. "There's not a lot to do at my house either."

Blake followed Ruby into the living room, eyes drifting around, taking in the pictures on the walls and the lived-in feel of the house.

One picture in particular caught her eye, a family photo from when Yang and Ruby were still kids.

Yang was in Tai's lap, her wild blonde hair pulled back into pigtails, wearing an orange sundress and a purple bracelet around her right wrist, flesh instead of the prosthetic metal Blake had gotten used to seeing.

Ruby was being held in the arms of a woman who looked almost exactly like her. The woman wore a white cloak and black dress, her eyes soft and loving as she cradled her young daughter. 

Their mother, Summer Rose. 

Blake remembers hearing Yang say her name once, remembers the grief in her voice and the sadness in her eyes.

"We finally found the remote." Ruby told Blake, stealing her attention away from the picture, jabbing a finger at the couch. "Yang found it underneath Zwei's bed."

Yang, who Blake only just now realized was on the couch, looked up from her phone and waved with a friendly grin.

Ruby flopped down on the opposite end of the couch from her sister, scooping the remote off of the coffee table and turning on the tv.

Blake carefully settled down between the two, glancing at Yang out of the corner of her eye.

The blonde woman smiled at her, turning off her phone and slipping it into her hoodie pocket, leaning further into the couch and making herself more comfortable.

Ruby put some random movie on, and not even half an hour later, she was passed out against the arm of the couch.

"She was up late last night." Yang whispered to Blake, standing up to drape a blanket from the back of the couch over Ruby's sleeping form. "I'm honestly surprised she didn't fall asleep sooner."

"What was she doing?" Blake asked as Yang sat back down next to her, looking away from the tv. 

"College stuff. She goes back to Beacon University at the end of August."

Blake hummed, nodding and turning her attention back to the movie. Ruby had so wisely picked a horror movie to watch before falling asleep, one of those old cheesy ones that weren’t even that scary. 

“Five bucks the blonde chick leaves the group and gets murdered first.” Yang whispered to her, eyes focused on the screen, fingers fiddling with the sleeve of her hoodie.

“No way, the jock is going to run after the killer and get himself stabbed immediately.”

Yang laughed quietly, smiling to herself. “I think we have ourselves a deal then, Miss Belladonna.”

Blake was proven right less than ten minutes later, when the stereotypical jock character hears a noise and goes to investigate, before joining the long list of the killer’s victims. 

“Goddammit.” Yang whispered as the jock died. “Guess I owe you five bucks.”

Blake shook her head. “Keep your money. The blonde one is going to die next anyway.”

“How do you know that?” Yang raised an eyebrow at her. “Have you seen this movie before?”

“Nope, but it’s pretty obvious the blonde has a crush on the jock, and he disappeared so she’s definitely going to leave the group to go find him and get killed.”

They both glanced back at the tv just as the blonde drifted away from the group, calling out the jock's name as she searched for him.

"Holy shit." Yang whispered, laughing quietly. "You were right."

Blake continued to be right in her predictions as the movie progressed, only being caught off guard once when the masked killer turned out to be the town sheriff and not the geek's dad like they had been led to believe.

"What the fuck?" Yang whispered in disbelief during the reveal, and Blake laughed. "The sheriff?"

"I'm just as surprised as you are." Blake said, tilting her head at the tv. "I could have sworn it was the geek's dad."

They both continue to stare at the tv as the credits rolled, still trying to figure out the point behind the dramatic reveal.

"That movie sucked. I hated it." 

Blake laughed, shaking her head. "You're just mad because I was right for most of the movie and you were wrong."

"You can't prove that."

Blake rolled her eyes, slipping her phone out of her pocket as she felt it buzz against her hip, ears drooping slightly as she read the text. "My mom is on her way."

Yang's shoulders dropped, looking dejected, only to perk up seconds later when Blake asked for her phone.

Yang's face lit up when Blake handed the device back to her, smiling at the new number now listed in her contacts.

"I'll text you later." Blake said, standing up from the couch and stretching, shirt riding up to reveal her stomach.

Blake smiled as Yang nodded numbly, rolling her eyes and making her way to the front door, holding back a laugh as Yang scrambled to follow her.

"Slow down tiger." Blake said as Yang caught up, surprised at her own flirtatious manner. She had never been much of a flirter before, but maybe that was bound to change. 

A lot of things about her had changed in the last couple of months. 

"Shut up." Yang grumbled, cheeks flushing red. "I'm trying to be a good host."

"Does that include tripping over your own feet to get the door for me?"

"Shut up..."

\--

"I can't believe I fell asleep."

Yang shook her head, laughing quietly at the dismayed look on Ruby's face. "That's what you get for staying up all night."

Ruby groaned, flopping back against the couch. "Did Blake at least have a good time?"

"I think she did." Yang said, sitting down on the couch next to her sister. "She gave me her phone number before she left."

Yang almost regretted saying that last part, because Ruby's face took on a teasing smirk almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

"Her number you say?" Ruby said, leaning over into Yang's space, eyebrows raised suggestively. 

"Ruby I swear to god-"

"I'm behaving." Her sister grumbled, rolling her eyes. "But you can't deny that you're attracted to her, Yang."

Yang blushed, roughly shoving her sister's shoulder. "Shut up."

"You're not denying it."

"Ruby please."

\--

Yang’s birthday was on July 28.

 _"She doesn't really make a big deal about it."_ Ruby had told Blake over the phone a couple of days before. _"It'll probably just be her, me, dad, and Uncle Qrow celebrating at home."_

Yang invites Blake over for dinner that night anyway, and when Blake shows up at the farm, Yang's cheeks are flushed red and Ruby has a teasing grin on her face.

"Hey," Yang greets her, smile shy and nervous as she shoves her sister away from the door. "Please ignore Ruby."

"Hey Blake-"

"Ignore her." Yang said, giving Ruby another push away from the door as she opened it wider to let Blake in, almost sending her sister falling to the ground. "She has nothing of value to say and she's being mean to the birthday girl."

"You're twenty-four." Ruby muttered, glaring at Yang. "I think you can handle a little bit of sisterly harassment."

"But it's my birthday, which means you legally can't be an asshole to me."

"I don't think that's how it works Yang." Blake, leaning down to take her shoes off, resting a hand against Yang's arm to steady herself, oblivious to the way the blonde's cheeks darken at the contact.

"Not you too Blake…" Yang gasped in fake disbelief, pressing a hand over her heart dramatically. "I invite you to my birthday dinner and you go and betray me like this."

"If it makes you feel any better," Blake said, holding out a small, poorly wrapped package. "I got you a birthday present."

Yang's eyes softened as she accepted the gift from Blake. "You didn't have to…"

"I wanted to." Blake says quietly, ignoring the way her heartbeat increased at her friend's growing smile, blaming it on her nerves from wanting her friend to enjoy the gift she got her.

"Happy birthday, Yang."

\--

**Blake**  
**August 3**  
**12:34 pm**

**Yang**  
hey  
wanna come over

 **Blake**  
Depends  
Am I going to be forced to watch another shitty horror movie

 **Yang**  
That movie was great  
You're just mad because the ending made no sense  
Dad gave me the day off and I'm bored  
Come wander around the farm with me

 **Blake**  
I'll be there in fifteen minutes

\--

"Belladonna."

"Xiao Long."

Yang grinned, hopping down the porch stairs to stand in front of Blake.

 _'God she's so pretty.'_ Yang thinks, ignoring her flushed cheeks as she leads her out back to the stables.

The horses from the left side of the building were both missing, but Ember and Crescent are still in their stalls. Ember poked her head out towards them, and Yang reached out to pat her horse on the nose. 

Yang glanced at Blake out of the corner of her eye, grinning at the small smile on her face as she reached out to hesitantly pet the mare.

“Do you want to come with me somewhere?” Yang asked quietly, shifting on her feet. "There's this place I haven't been to in a while and wanted to check out."

"Depends," Blake responded, ears flicking. "Where are you taking me?"

"Nowhere bad." Yang promised. "Me and Ruby used to go there all the time as kids."

Blake sighed, shaking her head. "I swear if you bring me to some murder house in the woods I'll never forgive you."

"I'll keep that in mind."

\--

"A treehouse?"

"Yeah." Yang said, stepping closer to the large tree. "Dad built it for me and Ruby to play in when we were younger."

"Is it safe?" Blake asked, staring up at the wooden structure hidden amongst the branches, ears tilting back.

"Yep." Yang said, starting to climb up the ladder. "Dad built this thing to last. Me and Ruby came up here right before she left for college last year. It's perfectly safe."

Yang nestled herself into one of the corners of the treehouse, smiling at all of the old memories she had of this place, when she and Ruby would beg Summer to bring them to the treehouse to play.

Blake cautiously pulled herself up, curiously looking around the treehouse with wide, nervous golden eyes.

"You weren't kidding." Blake said, sitting down in the corner next to Yang, disbelief in her voice. "This thing is solid."

The floorboards underneath them didn't even creak under their combined weight, holding strong even as two adults sat upon it.

"Mom wouldn't have let us up here if it wasn't safe." Yang said, running her left hand along the old wooden walls, fingers soothing over an old carving Ruby had made when they were still in elementary school.

Summer Rose had loved her daughters dearly, and she had made sure that the treehouse was as sturdy as possible before even letting them see the structure.

Yang had come up to the treehouse a lot over the past couple of years, to sit and wallow in the painful, yet fond memories of her stepmother in the months following her passing. 

It hurt to come here sometimes without Summer, but Summer couldn't come to the treehouse anymore, hadn't been able to for a long time.

Blake peered at one of the drawings pinned up on the walls, laughing quietly to herself. "Is that supposed to be Crescent Rose?"

The picture in question was one Ruby had made when Crescent was still a foal. Ruby had gotten attached to the paint horse almost as soon as the farm got her, and Yang rarely remembers a day when Ruby wasn't in the stables with her, babbling about her day to the farm's newest little edition. 

"Yep. Ruby wasn't the greatest artist back then."

Yang didn't know how long they sat up there together talking and laughing about whatever came to mind, but the sun was starting to set on the farm, and they had to climb down and head back before night fell.

"There you two are!" Ruby called out to them as they approached the farmhouse. "I was wondering where you went."

"Just for a walk." Blake said, winking at Yang out of the corner of her eye, and Yang smiled at her.

A walk, that's what happened. A simple walk along one of the trails in the woods surrounding the farm. Definitely not up in the old treehouse that carried both good and bad memories for the sisters.

Memories of their mother, memories of playing in the treehouse with her, memories of those first few painful months without her, when Yang could barely climb up the ladder, not yet used to being off-center from the empty space below her right shoulder. 

Blake's phones buzzed in her pocket, and she waved to the sisters, promising to talk to them later.

"Did you have fun?" Ruby asked as they walked into the house, pausing in the entryway to take off their shoes.

Yang smiled, glancing out the window, as if she expected to still see Blake outside.

"Yeah, I did."

\--

**Two Farmers and A Nerd**  
**August 7**  
**4:33 pm**

**(Ruby added 2 people)**  
**(Ruby named the chat Two Farmers and a Nerd)**

**Blake**  
Nerd?

 **Yang**  
ruby what's that supposed to mean

 **Ruby**  
I mean it in a good way I promise  
Nerd gang rise up

 **Yang**  
shut the fuck up nerd

 **Ruby**  
Yang you were at the top of your class in high school  
I think it's safe to say you might be a nerd

 **Yang**  
wow okay

**(Blake has given Yang the nickname Nerd)**

**Nerd**  
what the fuck

 **Ruby**  
Haha nerd

**(Nerd has left the chat)**

**(Blake has added Yang to the chat)**

**Blake**  
If you leave again you're officially a nerd

 **Yang**  
blake you're no longer invited to my birthday party

 **Ruby**  
Your birthday was literally a week ago  
We already had your birthday party  
She was there Yang we invited her  
You can’t uninvite her from a party that already happened

 **Yang**  
shut up ruby i was trying to do a bit  
i hate both of you

 **Ruby**  
Don't listen to her Blake   
She's just jealous that you get to go to my birthday party and it's gonna be cooler than her's 

**Yang**  
ruby your birthday is in october

 **Ruby**  
Your point

 **Yang**  
that's in three months  
dad always puts me in charge of planning your birthday  
which means i'm going to cancel your birthday party

 **Ruby**  
Wait no please 

**Yang**  
i've canceled it  
no more birthday parties for you

 **Blake**  
Tragic

 **Ruby**  
Blake who's side are you on

 **Blake**  
The winning side

 **Yang**  
which side is that 

**Blake**  
That's for me to know and for you two to never find out

 **Yang**  
boooooo you suck

 **Ruby**  
:(

 **Blake**  
Die mad

\--

The next time Blake goes to the farm, Ruby is out on the porch holding hands with a young woman that Blake doesn't recognize.

"Hey Blake." Ruby greeted, waving at her with her free hand. "Here for Yang?"

"Yeah," Blake walked up the steps and paused at the top, looking over at the stranger curiously. "Who's this?"

"Oh!" Ruby's eyes lit up. "This is my girlfriend, Penny. Penny, this is Blake."

"Salutations!" Penny said cheerfully, giving Blake a cute little two-finger salute. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Yang's upstairs in her room." Ruby gestured behind herself at the front door. "Can you let Zwei out on your way in?"

"Sure." Blake paused in front of the door to wave goodbye to the young couple. "It was nice meeting you, Penny."

Zwei sprung up from his dog bed in the living room the moment Blake opened the front door, sprinting past her and onto the porch to join Ruby and Penny.

Yang was splayed out on her bed when Blake entered her room, fiddling with her something on her phone and dropping the device onto her stomach when she noticed her walk in. 

"Sorry I wasn't down there to greet you." Yang said, sitting up with a stretch, her phone sliding from her abdomen to rest in her lap. "Did Ruby and Penny let you in?"

"Yeah." Blake settled down onto the bed beside Yang, leaning over to unzip her boots and slide them off her feet. "I didn't know Ruby had a girlfriend."

"Oh yeah," Yang said, tapping her fingers against her phone case. "They're high school sweethearts that like to bully me for being single."

"They're cute together." Blake lined her boots up at the foot of the bed. "Penny seems really sweet."

"They were friends for years before Ruby finally got the courage to ask her out." Yang said, falling back onto the bed, blonde hair spilling out across her pillow. "I can't imagine anyone else being more perfect for my little sister."

"Are we going to tease her in the group chat later?"

"Oh yeah definitely."

"Hell yeah."

\--

**Two Farmers and a Nerd**  
**August 11**  
**9:23 am**

**Blake**  
Hey I'm bored do you guys want to come over

 **Ruby**  
Yes!

 **Yang**  
can't   
dad wants me to do work today

 **Ruby**  
Haha loser

 **Yang**  
i'm gonna tell him you're being mean to me

 **Ruby**  
Do it Yang I dare you  
I know the law you can't stop me

 **Blake**  
What does that even mean

 **Ruby**  
It means anything Yang says against me can and will be used against her

 **Yang**  
wow ok   
can't believe i'm getting bullied by my baby sister

 **Ruby**  
I'm 21

 **Yang**  
i said what i said  
you’re a baby

 **Ruby**  
You're 24 and you're literally going to tell your dad that your little sister is bullying you  
I think we all know who the real child is here

 **Blake**  
Holy shit Ruby you didn't have to murder her

 **Ruby**  
It's what she deserves  
She made me feed the chickens yesterday

 **Blake**  
I still don't understand what's so bad about feeding the chickens

 **Yang**  
ruby's scared of one of the chickens

 **Ruby**  
Sam is a menace and you know it

 **Yang**  
sam is a sweetheart you take that back

 **Ruby**  
She literally attacked me yesterday 

**Yang**  
sucks to be you

 **Ruby**  
I don't have to take this kind of treatment from you  
Blake what time can I come over

 **Blake**  
Whenever you want I don't care

 **Yang**  
rubes you're probably going to need to get a ride  
dad and qrow are already out back and i don't want to get up

 **Ruby**  
Hey Blake

 **Blake**  
I'll be there in 20 minutes

 **Ruby**  
Thank you 

\--

Blake sits down on her bed, leaning back on her hands as Ruby looks around her room.

"You have so many books." Ruby whispers in awe, staring at the bookshelf on the far side of the room. "I think you might have more books than me."

"I wasn't lying when I said I liked to read." Blake watched Ruby as she ran her fingers over the spines of the books, pausing over books she recognized and gently pulling out others that she didn't to read their descriptions.

"What's with all the boxes?" Ruby asked after a moment, placing a book back on the shelf and glancing curiously over a couple of cardboard boxes stacked up in the corner of the room.

"There from my move." Blake said as nonchalantly as possible. "I still haven't unpacked all of my stuff yet."

"Move?"

"I used to live in Vale." Blake fiddled with a loose thread on her jeans, praying that Ruby wouldn't ask too many questions. "I moved back in with my parents a little over two months ago."

Ruby hummed, nodding to herself and continuing to peruse the bookshelf as Blake breathed a brief sigh of relief. Her move and the reasons behind it were still a little too fresh in her mind to willingly discuss with someone she had only met a couple of weeks ago, even if that person was one of her only friends.

"Sorry there's not a lot to do here." Blake said after a couple of minutes, ears tilting downward. “It just felt weird going to the farm all the time.”

"No, it's fine." Ruby flopped down on the floor next to her bed, crossing her legs and leaning back. "It's nice to have a little more help on the farm every once and awhile."

Ruby paused to blow a puff of air at a stray strand of hair that had fallen into her face, pouting when it failed to move and using her hand to smooth it back into place.

"It's usually just dad, Uncle Qrow, and Yang that work on the farm. Dad doesn't really like letting me help out too much during the summer because I'm 'on break' and I need to 'relax' a little before going back to school."

"I kind of agree with him." Blake said, holding back a laugh as Ruby glared playfully at her. "College is hard, let yourself rest every once and awhile."

Ruby groaned, rolling her eyes and falling back onto the floor. "God you sound just like dad when you say that."

Ruby glanced to the side, eyes lighting up as she reached out and scooped up a pack of cards that had fallen off of Blake's nightstand.

"Wanna play some card games?" She asked, shaking the box, a dangerous gleam in her eyes. "Uncle Qrow taught me and Yang some new ones the other night that I wanted to try out.”

"Sure, why not." Blake said, shrugging. She couldn't remember the last time that deck had been used, let alone the last she'd played cards with someone.

A small part of her wished that Yang was here too, another person that Blake enjoyed the company of, someone else that made Blake laugh and feel happy.

Ruby won every single game they played, but Blake wasn't that upset. It was fun, hanging out with Ruby. 

Blake had almost forgotten what having fun felt like, just another one of the things he had taken away from her. 

She wasn’t going to let fun be one of the things she couldn’t enjoy ever again.

\--

Kali poked her head into Blake's room, ears flicking. "Ruby, dear, are you staying for dinner?"

Ruby blinked, slipping her phone out of her pocket and doing a double-take at the time. "I can ask."

Kali nodded, smiling. "Let me know when you find out."

Blake looked over Ruby's shoulder as she opened the messaging app on her phone and clicked on one of her most recent contacts.

"Dad sucks at answering his phone." Ruby told her as she typed out a text. "It's way easier to just ask Yang."

Yang sent back an affirmative a couple of minutes later, followed by a picture of Zwei being chased by a chicken a couple of seconds later.

"That's Sam." Ruby said, pointing at the chicken. "She's a literal terror."

"I don't know Ruby, she seems fine to me."

"You're only saying that because you don't like Zwei."

"You can't prove anything."

\--

Tai comes and picks Ruby up after dinner, thanking the Belladonna family heavily for letting Ruby stay over to dinner.

When Blake decides to go to bed a couple of minutes later, she's greeted with text messages from both sisters.

**Ruby**  
**August 11**  
**10:15 pm**

**Ruby**  
Thanks for having me over  
I had fun :)

Blake smiles at the message, typing out a quick response before opening up her text conversations with Yang.

**Yang**  
**August 11**  
**10:23 pm**

**Yang**  
hey sorry i couldn't come over

 **Blake**  
It's okay  
There'll be other times

 **Yang**  
miss belladonna is this your way of saying that i'm always welcomed in your humble abode  
i'm flattered

 **Blake**  
I take it back you're never allowed over to my house  
Don’t come near me or my family ever again

 **Yang**  
wait no please blake

 **Blake**  
Nope it's official you can't come to my house ever

 **Yang**  
blake   
blake please  
i'll behave i promise  
don't leave me on read  
i can't believe you're leaving me on read

\--

Weiss Schnee is Ruby's roommate from college and a friend of the family. 

"So you're Blake." Weiss says to Blake upon meeting her for the first time, hand stiffly stuck out in front of her for a handshake. "Yang talks about you a lot."

"Only good things I hope." Blake said, accepting Weiss's handshake with a nervous smile.

Weiss smirked, glancing at Yang out of the corner of her eye. "Oh you have no idea."

And Blake couldn't even begin to decipher what that meant, didn't even know how or where to start.

"Oh no," Yang said upon noticing the smirk on Weiss's face. "Weiss what are you telling her?"

"Nothing."

"Don't you dare betray me Schnee." Yang jabbed an accusatory finger in their direction. "I know your darkest secrets."

"You don't know shit."

She adds Weiss's number to her phone before she leaves, and the short woman promises black mail against the sisters. 

"They're terrible." Weiss grumbles to her as Ruby and Yang tussel together in the grass. "I can't believe you have a crush on Yang."

Blake freezes, heart beating rapidly in her chest. "How do you know that?"

"I know what pining looks like when I see it. It's obvious you like Yang."

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing." Weiss pulls out her phone to answer a text. "Good luck with her, she's an absolute disaster."

"I'll keep that in mind."

\--

**Blake**  
**August 20**  
**12:34 pm**

**Yang**  
hey  
wanna come over

 **Blake**  
Any particular reason you want me over

 **Yang**  
i'm bored  
and ruby is spending the last week of summer break with penny  
so i'm kind of lonely

 **Blake**  
I'll be there in fifteen minutes  
Someone needs to keep the big baby company

 **Yang**  
hell yeah  
wait what the fuck did you just call me

\--

"We're going to the treehouse again?"

"Yeah." Yang said, turning around to walk backwards so she could face Blake. "It's a nice day, so I figured we could take another trip out to the old treehouse. You know, spend one of the last days of summer outside before fall starts and we get stuck inside."

"You know for someone who said they didn't really go to the treehouse, you really like going to the treehouse."

Yang turned back around, rolling her eyes and quickening her pace slightly as the treehouse came into view. "This is the one place on the property dad doesn't go to very often. It's my safe haven from having to do work."

Blake laughed, carefully climbing up the ladder after Yang and sitting down beside her in the treehouse.

"You know I haven't really been into town yet." Blake said after a while, drawing little patterns into the wood with a finger. "I've lived here for a couple of weeks, and yet I really only know you and your family."

"Have you even met Uncle Qrow yet?" Yang asked, and Blake shook her head. "He lives in that little attached guest house we have. He moved in a couple of years ago."

Uncle Qrow had moved in with them after Summer passed and Yang lost her arm. He was a former detective turned retired professor at Signal Academy, and current boyfriend of a big fancy military officer from Atlas. She and Ruby loved to tease him about Clover whenever they could, which turned out to be very often.

Yang shifted and laid down on the treehouse floor, resting her head on her hands, cool metal pressing soothingly against the warm back of her neck.

"Our neighbors on the left are the Arc family, and they have a fuckton of kids." Yang smiled when Blake laughed. "I swear there's more every time we see them.

"How many kids is a fuckton?" Blake asked in between giggles. 

"Eight total kids. Seven girls and one boy. I went to high school with their son, Jaune."

"Seven sisters." Blake said, ear twitching. "I bet he's probably really good at braiding hair."

"Oh he's the best at it. One time in our freshman year he braided Pyrrah's hair for fun and it was the best braid I've ever seen." Yang said, shaking her head fondly at the memory. "He had girls asking him to braid their hair before class for weeks."

"I'm going to assume Pyrrha was someone else that you went to high school with."

"Yep." Yang said, nodding. "She and her mom are our other neighbors. They own a small berry farm and sometimes we trade with them for jam. Pyrrha is how we met Weiss. They're dating."

Yang smiled sadly at the old memories. "It's been a while since I've hung out with them. Adult life can really be a pain in the ass sometimes.”

Blake laid down on the floor beside her, and together, they stared up at the wooden ceiling of the treehouse.

“Mom died in a car accident a couple of years ago.” Yang whispered quietly, keeping her eyes trained on the ceiling even as Blake turned her head slightly to look at her. “I haven’t really left the farm since."

“I’m sorry.” Blake whispered back, and Yang felt Blake’s shoulder brush against her elbow.

“It’s fine.” Yang said, swallowing thickly, burying the emotions that were threatening to rise deep in her chest. “It’s just been… a little hard for us since she passed."

"It's nice though," Yang whispered. "To have you here, helping us out. We really appreciate it. You're a good friend, Blake."

"I'm here for you guys, if you ever need it." Blake said after a moment, and Yang finally looked over at her, at the pretty golden eyes she was starting to grow fond of.

"Thanks." Yang said, mouth twitching into a sad smile. "The same goes for you too. I’m here for you."

"We can be there for each other."

\--

“I moved in with my parents two months ago.”

Yang turns her head to glance over at Blake, but the faunus woman isn't looking at her, instead staring straight upwards at the treehouse roof. 

"I had just broken up with my ex-boyfriend, and I… I couldn't be in that city anymore, not after everything that happened with him."

Blake's hand shifted to press over her hip, her shirt riding up as she slipped her fingers under to rub at the x-shaped scar that marred her skin. 

Yang didn't need a lot of context clues to figure out who had put it there. 

"I'm only supposed to be here for a year." Blake whispered, her voice so quiet that Yang could barely hear her. "Y'know, time to get back on my feet and everything before I move back to Vale in the spring but..."

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to call Vale home again.”

Yang hesitantly reached out and brushed her hand against Blake's, intertwining their fingers when Blake didn't pull away and squeezing gently. 

They laid there for a long time, holding hands and staring up at the ceiling, not saying a word.

_We're here for each other._

\--

"Ruby? Yang?"

"Blake?"

Blake smiled sheepishly at the pair, ears twitching. "Fancy seeing you two here."

Yang was leaning heavily over the handrails of a shopping cart, looking absolutely exhausted but somehow finding the energy to smile at Blake warmly. Ruby didn't look nearly as tired as her sister, her usual smile on her face and an excited spring in her step.

"What are you doing here?" Ruby asked as Yang yawned silently beside her. 

"Shopping, you know, what everyone here is doing."

"Ok ass" Ruby pouted, glaring playfully as Blake rolled her eyes. 

Yang reached out and flicked the back of her sister's head. "Watch your language."

"Mom insisted that I go shopping with her this morning." Blake said before a sibling argument could break out between them. "What about you two?"

"We're going to a farmer's market this weekend." Ruby jabbed a finger towards one of the shopping aisles. "Uncle Qrow brought us here to get supplies."

"Farmer's market?"

Ruby nodded, but before she could say anything, her attention was stolen away from Blake as a tall man stepped out of the aisle Ruby had pointed at, a box of cookies tucked under his arm, and the younger girl lit up. 

"Here you go kiddo." The man said, passing the box of cookies to Ruby and ruffling her hair. "I hope you two are behaving and not bothering this poor girl."

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby ducked away from his hand, holding her cookies close to her chest. "We're not bothering her, she's our friend."

"This is Blake." Yang introduced, shifting on her feet. "Blake, this is our Uncle Qrow."

Qrow reached out and Blake shook his hand, giving the tall man a quiet hello. 

"Hey Blake," Ruby said, bouncing on her feet. "Want to come to the farmer's market with us?"

Yang flashed Blake a small grin, and Qrow shook his head and rolled his eyes, a barely-there smile on his face. 

One of Blake's ears twitched back at the sound of familiar footsteps approaching, and she smiled at the trio in front of her.

"Why don't we ask my mother?"

\--

They came and picked Blake up early the next morning.

"Good morning!" Ruby said cheerfully, wide awake despite the early hour.

"Morning Ruby." Blake yawned, following Ruby over to the red pickup truck in the driveway of her parents' house.

Qrow mumbled a good morning to Blake as she climbed into the back seat of the truck, Ruby returning to the passenger seat beside her uncle.

"I'm dying." Yang said, smiled tiredly at Blake. "She's been up since 5 am."

"How the hell is she managing that?"

"I have no idea." Yang yawned, dropping her head down onto Blake's shoulder. "I'm gonna strangle her if she doesn't quiet down."

"Do you want to take a nap on the way there?" Blake asked as the truck started up again, cheeks heating up at their close proximity. "I don't mind being your pillow for a little bit."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Blake hesitantly reached out and intertwined their fingers, squeezing the cool metal. "Get some sleep, I'll wake you up when we get there."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

\--

The farmer's market was _packed._

Blake stuck close to Yang and Ruby, looking around warily as they squeezed between people, following the tall form of Qrow Branwen through the crowd. 

"It's really only like this during setup." Ruby told her, shifting her grip on a crate of goods. "It calms down a little when the market opens."

"We can wander around later if you want." Yang said, nudging Blake with her shoulder. The blonde's nap had done her well, and she was back to her usual bright self by the time they arrived at the market.

"We don't have to work the whole time?"

"Nope." Ruby set the crate down at the table, brushing off her hands. "Uncle Qrow has it handled."

A hand came down and ruffled Ruby's hair, and Ruby swatted her uncle's hand away as he laughed. "You brats better not leave me alone the whole time.

Yang rolled her eyes, shaking her head and looking over at Blake. "So we're totally ditching them later right?"

"At least one of you has to stay with me this time." Qrow grumbled, glaring at the people bustling around. "If I have to deal with one more fucking entitled parent on my own I'm gonna kill someone."

"Uncle Qrow murder is illegal."

"A little homicide never hurt anyone."

Blake laughed at the interaction, turning to Yang. "Are they always like this?"

"Every time."

“Am I going to have to deal with an entitled parent?”

“Probably.”

“Damn.”

\--

Yang dragged Blake away from the booth the moment an entitled looking woman approached with a reluctant looking young boy in tow, leaving Ruby and Qrow to suffer her wrath alone. 

“Will they be alright on their own?” Blake asked, glancing behind herself at Ruby and Qrow, practically hearing the grumbling they're surely doing. 

“They’ll be fine.” Yang said, tucking her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “It won’t be the first time they’ve had to deal with her. We see her every time we come here, and she’s been anything but pleasant.”

“You know they’re probably going to be a little upset that we ditched them.” Blake said with a smile, already imagining the overdramatic scene that Ruby was going to perform when they got back.

“Yep, I’ll be stuck feeding the chickens for the rest of the summer.”

“Is it worth it?”

Yang laughed, looking back at her sister and uncle with a grin. “Oh yeah, totally. There’s no way I’m dealing with Karen if I have anything to do about it.”

Blake laughed, shaking her head. “You’re really willing to sacrifice your sister?”

“She drank all of the coffee this morning. I want nothing to do with her anymore.”

“Harsh.”

Yang rolled her eyes, and they fell into a comfortable silence, looking around at the booths and just enjoying each other’s company as they wandered around the market.

One booth in particular caught Blake’s eye, and she slowly drifted over to it, Yang following closely on her heels. 

Dozens of old paperbacks were spread out on the table, some well worn and others in near peak condition, a broad selection reigning from classics and fairy tales to some books Blake had to read when she was still in college.

The older woman sitting in the chair behind the table gave them a friendly smile as they approached, eyes returning to the book in her hands as Blake surveyed her wares. 

“You want one?” Yang asked, leaning over Blake’s shoulder to look at the books. 

Blake hesitated to respond, eyes drifting to one book in particular, a paperback copy of a book she fondly remembers reading when she would borrow it from the high school library.

“Kind of,” Blake whispered to her, ears flicking. “But I forgot to bring money with me.”

“I’ll pay for it.” Yang said immediately, pulling her wallet out of her pocket. “Think of it as thanks for earlier.”

“You don't have to repay me for that.” 

Yang shook her head, stubborn as always and unwilling to budge. “I want to.”

The woman in the chair glanced back up at them, a smile still on her face as she accepted the money from Yang and thanked them for their patronage. 

Blake turned the paperback around in her hands, fingers smoothing over the cover, smiling slightly to herself. 

“The Man with Two Souls?” Yang said, slipping her wallet back into her pocket as they left the booth. 

“Yeah.” Blake said softly. “My mother got me a copy of it for my eighteenth birthday. I lost it in college, but it was one of my favorites.”

Yang hummed, and Blake stopped walking, turning slightly to wrap her arms around Yang’s shoulders, pulling the taller woman into a quick hug. “Thank you.”

Yang hesitantly wrapped her arms around Blake’s waist, returning the hug. 

"We should probably head back." Yang said as they pulled apart, her lilac eyes shining brightly in the sunlight

"Yeah." Blake whispered, momentarily enraptured by Yang's beauty.

Blake followed Yang back to the booth, smiling to herself when Ruby instantly jumped up out of her chair at the sight of them, no doubt preparing to release the dramatics. 

"Good luck." Blake whispered, nudging Yang lightly in the side. 

"Oh, I'll definitely need it."

\--

"Weiss you _bitch."_

Blake held back a laugh, holding her cards close to her chest as Yang glared at Weiss. 

"You see the card, Yang." Weiss smirked, reaching out to tap the card she had just placed on the pile for emphasis. "Draw two."

"I fucking hate you." Yang grumbled, grabbing two cards from the top of the deck. "We're never inviting you over to play Uno with us again."

"Don't worry Weiss." Ruby piped up from her spot strewn across Penny's lap. "I'll always invite you over to destroy Yang at card games."

"At least you won't betray me, right Blake?" Yang asked, staring at Blake with wide, pleading eyes, brushing their hands together and intertwining their pinkies. 

"Of course not." Blake said, ignoring her rapidly flushing cheeks. "I would never betray you."

"Why do I feel like you're lying to me?"

"Well-"

"Oh my god," Weiss said with a glare, her grip tightening around her cards. "Can you two stop flirting for five minutes and just play the damn game?"

Yang flipped Weiss off and stuck her tongue out at her, cheeks bright red from embarrassment. 

"Wow you were right," Penny whispered not so quietly to her girlfriend. "They really do like each other."

"Shhh not so loud," Ruby shushed, holding back a laugh. "I don't think they've figured it out yet."

"Alright that's enough out of you two." Yang's blush had spread down her neck and across her shoulders. "Let's just get back to the game."

"You're just saying that cause we're embarrassing you."

"Ruby I'm gonna scream."

The teasing continues through the rest of the game, resulting in the two siblings tussling together in a playful wrestling match at the very end. 

Yeah, this was the dumbass she had a crush on.

"You have a crush on an idiot." Weiss grumbled to Blake as they watched the duo fight from a safe distance.

"Yeah, I know."

Weiss rolled her eyes and sighed. "At least you're honest about it."

"I know what I like."

"I hate gay people."

"Weiss you're gay."

"I hate gay people so much."

\--

Blake spends the last day of summer with Ruby and Yang. 

It’s not technically the last day of the season, but it’s the end of Ruby’s summer break, and she insisted that Blake come over and hang out with them before she went back to Beacon University. 

_"It'll be fun."_ Ruby had said over the phone. _"Just you, me, and Yang, hanging out and being kids.”_

_“All three of us are adults Ruby.”_

_“Sorry didn’t catch that, I gotta go feed the chickens, bye.”_

"Did she really say that she was going to feed the chickens?" Yang asked, plopping down onto the top porch step beside Blake, handing her a cold bottle of water. 

"Yep, and I'm going to assume she didn't actually feed the chickens."

"She made Uncle Qrow do it." Yang pressed her own bottle of water against the side of her neck. "Sam attacked him. It was pretty fun to watch."

Blake laughed, shaking her head, and Yang smiled prettily at her. 

"Where did Ruby go?" Blake asked, ear twitching. The younger girl had disappeared into the house a couple of minutes ago, and had yet to return. 

“Dad wanted her to double-check all of her stuff real quick before tomorrow. She should be back out in a couple of minutes.”

Blake hummed, taking a sip from her water and leaning back, eyes turned skyward to watch the sunset. "What does she go to college for anyway?"

"Engineering." Yang said, hair ruffled slightly from the gentle breeze. "She got a full-ride scholarship and graduated high school early."

Blake whistled lowly, impressed. "Damn, what the hell is she doing hanging out with the likes of us?"

Yang laughed, rolling her eyes. "Did you go to college?"

"Yep, for two years."

"That's way farther than I ever got." Yang said wistfully. "I dropped out of high school right before my senior year and got my GED instead. Haven't stepped foot inside of a school since."

The sound of the front door opening made them both turn the heads around to look behind them, and Ruby hopped out onto the porch.

"Whatcha guys doing?" Ruby asked, sitting down on Blake's other side. 

"Watching the sunset." Yang said, looking back up at the sky. 

Blake turned her gaze back to the shifting yellows and oranges of the setting sun, faint purples and blues following closely behind the bright colors as the sun started to drop below the horizon. 

It was nice, watching the sunset with her friends. 

Ruby would be leaving for college the next morning, and this was the last time Blake and Yang were going to see her for the next couple of weeks.

Soon, it was going to be just her and Yang.

"You two won't have too much fun without me, right?" Ruby asked after a couple of minutes, and Blake nudged the younger girl lightly with her shoulder as Yang chuckled softly beside her.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Ruby." Yang said, reaching around Blake to ruffle her sister’s hair. “Go get that education, me and Blake will be just fine on our own.”

Yang’s arm brushed Blake’s shoulder as she pulled it away from Ruby, flashing Blake a quick, bright smile.

“The sunset sure is pretty today.” Ruby said, and Blake hummed in agreement, sneaking a peek over at Yang, gaze snapping up towards the sky when she noticed Yang’s gaze already on her.

“Yeah it is…” Blake whispered breathlessly, face heating up, struggling to ignore Yang watching her. 

The sunset wasn't the only thing that Yang thought was pretty, but then again, Blake couldn't help but agree.

To her, Yang was just as beautiful as the sun itself.


	2. Autumn

"Are you sure you guys are gonna be okay on your own?"

Ruby stares up at Yang, eyes wide and worried behind the lenses of her glasses. She's holding a box in her arms, the last one that they need to put into the truck. 

Ruby leaves for Beacon University today.

"We'll be fine Ruby," Yang said, taking the box from her sister and setting it down in the backseat of the truck. "This isn't the first time me and dad have taken care of the farm on our own."

"I know." Ruby sighed, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "I just don't like leaving you and dad alone on the farm for too long."

Yang rolled her eyes, closing the back door of the truck and reaching out to ruffle her sister’s hair, looking over at the porch as her dad and uncle stepped out of the house. 

"Are we all set?" Tai called out to them, and Yang flashed him a quick thumbs-up, yelling back an affirmative.

Ruby darted over to the porch steps as Tai and Qrow reached the bottom, throwing her arms around her father and giving him a quick hug. 

"I'm gonna miss you guys." Ruby said, pulling back from the hug and reaching out towards Yang. 

Yang hugged her sister tightly, resting her chin on the top of Ruby's head. 

"Behave," Ruby whispered. "Don't start any fires without me."

"Shouldn't I be the one telling you that?"

Ruby pulled away shaking her head. "Who knows what kind of trouble you and Blake will get into without me here to watch you."

Yang laughed, punching Ruby lightly in the arm. "Shut up."

"Are you ready to go kiddo?" Qrow asked, and Ruby nodded, walking over to him with a sad smile on her face. 

"You think she'll be alright on her own?" Tai asked, waving goodbye to Ruby as she hopped into the truck with Qrow. 

"She'll be fine. She's Ruby." 

Tai chuckled, shaking his head. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just worry about her sometimes, in the big city all by herself."

Yang watched the car turn out onto the driveway, swallowing thickly as it disappeared out of sight. 

"Yeah, me too."

\--

**Blake**   
**September 3**   
**11:04 am**

**Yang**  
hey  
wanna come over

**Blake**  
Let me guess   
You have to feed the chickens today  
And you want me there as backup

**Yang**  
you know me so well  
i don’t want to go out onto the battlefield alone

**Blake**  
It’s literally just feeding the chickens  
I don't see how it can be that bad

**Yang**  
sam has tasted blood and is rising against us

**Blake**  
I thought Sam was nice to you

**Yang**  
ruby isn’t here for her to take her revenge out on  
it’s only a matter of time before that chicken turns against me 

**Blake**  
I’ll be there in fifteen minutes  
It would be a shame to miss out on you getting your ass kicked by a chicken

**Yang**  
i’m telling you blake they’re vicious 

**Blake**  
Sure they are

**Yang**  
just you wait blake  
one day they will start coming after you too

\--

“So which one is Sam?"

Yang reached out and pointed at one of the chickens, a tan feathered one that was watching them with a harsh stare. “That’s Samara the orpington chicken. She’s mean for her breed, which is why Ruby doesn’t like her. She can be a real bitch sometimes.”

“She doesn’t look very friendly…” Blake muttered, ears tilting back. 

"She's nice to me...sometimes." Yang swung her legs over the fence, chicken feed in hand. 

"If she charges, please tell me. I don't want to die today." Yang said, eyeing the chicken in question warily as she started to disperse the feed. 

"Maybe if you're lucky, I'll warn you."

"Blake please."

"I make no promises."

\--

Yang slipped back over the fence a couple of minutes later, handing the empty feed basket to Blake and leaning back against the wood.

“Thank god that’s over.” Yang muttered, slipping her flannel off to wrap it around her waist, momentarily catching Blake off guard.

Blake hummed, mouth suddenly dry, ears flicking slightly as she looked back over at the chickens and away from powerful muscles on display next to her. "Is there anything else we need to do today?"

"Nope." Yang took the empty basket from Blake and put it away in a nearby supply shed. "We're free to do whatever we want."

Blake bumped her shoulder lightly, smiling. "Treehouse?"

"It's like you can read my mind."

"More like you're just starting to become predictable."

Yang stuck her tongue out childishly, grinning when Blake laughed at her antics. 

"Your laugh is pretty." Yang whispered suddenly, slightly breathless, mouth twitching into a softer smile. 

Blake's ears tilted back, her features turning nervous and hesitant. "My laugh isn't pretty."

"I think it is." Yang said softly, blushing heavily. "I think your laugh is really pretty."

“Thanks…” Blake reached up to brush a stray strand of hair behind her ear, hesitating slightly. “No one’s ever said that to me before…”

“Well then I guess I’ll have to keep saying it, to make up for everyone else.” Yang smiled, eyes gentle and honest, and god this was too much. 

“God, you’re such a dork.” Blake said, shaking her head with a little laugh, hopefully shifting the conversation away from herself.

“Thank you.”

Blake rolled her eyes, holding back a sigh of relief and mentally patting herself on the back, and started walking away towards the treeline, leaving Yang to hurry after her. “Come on, we have a treehouse to get to.”

“Yes ma’am.”

\--

**Two Farmers and a Nerd**   
**September 9**   
**3:08 pm**

**Yang**  
ruby you won't believe what just happened  
blake said y'all   
we've infected her with our ways

**Ruby**  
Blake oh my god no

**Blake**  
I did not 

**Yang**  
yes you did i just heard you say it  
you can't lie to me belladonna

**Blake**  
She's lying to you Ruby   
Don't believe her

**Ruby**  
I don't know Blake I'm inclined to believe her  
She would never lie to me about something like this 

**Blake**  
I hate y'all   
Wait

**Yang**  
SHE DID IT AGAIN 

**Ruby**  
Oh my god it's true  
Blake you're one of us now

**Blake**  
No wait

**Yang**  
too late blakey   
one of us 

**Ruby**  
One of us

**Blake**  
I hate you guys

\--

The next time Blake pays a visit to the farm, Yang takes her apple picking.

"You know, I've never picked apples before." Blake told Yang as the blonde passed her a basket off of the horse-drawn cart. "So I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing."

"That's fine, I'll show you." Yang stepped down from the cart and grabbed a hold of Ember's lead rope, guiding the horse towards a tree. "Just let me tie Ember up real quick and we can head out."

Once Ember was safely tied to a tree in the shade, Yang picked up a basket of her own and rejoined Blake at the front of the orchard. 

"So apple picking isn't that hard." Yang started, waving Blake to follow her down a row of apple trees, marked by a sign that read 'McIntosh'. 

"You pick the apples on the outer branches and gently place them in the basket." Yang reached out and grabbed one of the apples on a nearby tree, lifting the apple upwards and twisting, setting the fruit in her basket and turning back to Blake. "It's simple."

Blake approached the tree and copied Yang's movements, placing the apple in her basket and repeating the process. 

"What do you guys do with all these apples?" Blake asked a couple of minutes later as fruit continued to stack up in their baskets. 

"Well, dad likes to make the McIntoshes into applesauce or juice most of the time." Yang started, picking another apple and putting it in her basket. "Ruby uses the Fuji apples to make pies when she's home, so we save a couple of them for her, and we just sell the rest at farmer's markets."

Blake hummed and shifted her basket slightly in her arms. The blonde had forgone wearing a jacket despite the cold temperature that morning, leaving her muscular shoulders and biceps on display. Yang made holding the basket of apples look easy, not even breaking a sweat as the amount of fruit grew larger. 

"Speaking of farmer's markets, did you ever finish that book you got when you came with us?" Yang asked, adding another apple to her basket. 

"I did," Blake's ears twitched as she remembered the day of the farmer's market. "Thanks again, for buying the book for me. You really didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to." Yang said with a smile, casually continuing to pick apples while humming a song that Blake didn't recognize. "It can just be an early birthday present or something."

"My birthday is in January."

"Ok so it's a really early birthday present…" Yang paused, looking over at her curiously. "Wait does this mean you're older than me?"

"I mean yeah, technically."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Was I supposed to?"

"I can't believe this. You're older than me."

"It's only by like six months."

"God, you're so old."

"Shut up Yang."

\--

Ruby comes to visit that weekend.

"It's so nice to see you guys!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around their shoulders in a tight hug. "I missed y'all so much!"

"Missed you too, Ruby." Yang patted her sister on the shoulder, glancing over at Blake and shaking her head with a fond smile. 

Ruby stepped back and released them from her vice grip, vibrating in excitement. "Did y'all have fun without me? I'll never forgive you two if you had fun without me."

Blake rolled her eyes with a shrug. "If you count manual labor as having fun, then yeah we had plenty of fun."

"Booooo you guys are boring."

"Ruby, this is a farm. You've lived here your whole life." Yang crossed her arms and fixed her sister with a teasing glare. "What did you think we were doing?"

"Not being boring."

"Wow okay way to insult your entire family's way of life."

"I said what I said."

\--

Hours later, Blake finds herself sitting alone with Ruby on the front porch.

"You know I always forget how quiet it is here every time I come back." Ruby says, leaning back on her hands, boots thunking against the porch steps as she kicked her legs up and down. "The city's always so loud, even at night."

Blake hummed, crossing her legs and resting her elbows on her knees, holding back a shiver at the slightly chilly breeze.

"I'm glad that you're here for Yang." 

“What do you mean?” Blake turned her head to look at Ruby, but the younger girl wasn't looking at her, bright silver eyes trained upwards to look at the stars. 

"It's nothing really," Ruby shrugged, mouth twitching briefly into a sad smile. "It's just sometimes I worry that Yang gets lonely here all by herself."

"Like, I know she has dad and Uncle Qrow, but it's nice knowing that you're here for her too." Ruby sat up, looking down at her hands as she folded them in her lap. “I’m glad that she has a friend like you to keep her company.”

_Thank you for being here for her._

Blake's ears twitched at the familiar sound of Yang's footsteps approaching them, and Ruby resumed her previous position, effectively ending the conversation, as brief as it was, as Yang appeared around the corner. 

"What're you two talking about?"

"Oh nothing important," Ruby said, shifting to give Yang room to sit down in between them. "Just nerd stuff."

"So you finally admit that you're a nerd."

"Shut up."

Ruby shoved Yang playfully, smiling widely as she made eye contact with Blake. 

_'Thank you,'_ Her eyes said, an unspoken message that only Blake was meant to see. _'Thank you for caring enough to stay.'_

Blake glanced away from Ruby to find sweet lilac eyes already looking at her and a smile she was more than happy to return.

As if she could ever run away from this.

\--

"You know, you've been spending a lot of time on the Xiao Long-Rose farm lately."

Blake looked up from her plate and at her father. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Ghira smiled at her. "It's just nice to see you hanging out with people your age."

"How are Yang and Ruby doing?" Kali asked, taking a bite of her food.

"Good, Ruby came to visit last weekend."

"That's nice." Kali hummed and smiled. "I'm glad that you're making friends."

Blake smiled back and looked down at her plate.

"Yeah, me too."

\--

"I hate that you persuaded me into helping you."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be so easily persuaded next time." Yang shot back teasingly, handing Blake a basket of chicken seed. 

"If I die it's your fault." Blake said, gaze locked on the farm's most infamous chicken.

"You won't die," Yang hefted herself up and over the fence. "Don't be so dramatic."

"Oh so you're allowed to be dramatic when you feed the chickens but I'm not?"

Yang rolled her eyes and held her arms out towards Blake. "Do you need help getting over the fence?"

"I can do it myself." Blake hesitantly grabbed the top railing of the fence, and _oh it was taller than she thought._

Yang's legs were long enough for her to get over easily, but Blake wasn't so lucky, and Yang reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"I'll help you."

"Thank you, Yang."

"Anything for you, miss Belladonna."

\--

**Yang**   
**September 16**   
**1:04 pm**

**Yang**  
hey pyrrha’s coming over later with some jam if you want some

**Blake**  
Like to take home

**Yang**  
we're trading some apples for jam  
and you helped pick the apples so you can have some of the jam

**Blake**  
Wait really  
Will she have raspberry jam

**Yang**  
yeah i'm pretty sure

**Blake**  
Hell yeah

\--

Pyrrha Nikos was the most kind-hearted person Blake had ever met. 

"Hello!"

"Hey Pyrrha," Yang waved at a tall red-headed woman. "Do you have the goods?"

"Depends, do you have yours?" Pyrrha called back, leaning against the side of her truck. "It's good to see you too, Yang."

Pyrrha's gaze drifted to Blake, and she looked her up and down curiously "Who's your new friend?"

Yang's face lit up in a bright smile. "This is Blake, me and Ruby met her over the summer."

Pyrrha hummed and outstretched her hand towards Blake. "I'm Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos."

"Blake Belladonna."

Pyrrha smiled sweetly at her, eyes soft and friendly. Blake had only known her for less than five minutes and she could already tell that this woman was the kindest person in the world from just her smile alone.

"Now that introductions are out of the way," Pyrrha turned to look back at Yang, her kind smile never leaving her face. "I do think you have some apples for me, Miss Xiao Long."

"Yep," Yang stretched her arms over her head and jabbed a finger behind herself back at the house. "Let me go get them real quick. I'll be right back."

"I hope Yang and Ruby haven't been getting you into too much trouble." Pyrrha said after Yang had gone inside, climbing into the bed of her truck. "God knows that Weiss complains about Ruby's antics all the time."

"You and Weiss are dating, right?"

Pyrrha hummed and nodded. "Yep, she and Ruby are roommates at Beacon. I get like eight texts a day about how Ruby got cookie crumbs all over their room."

Blake leaned against the side of the truck and laughed, fingers fiddling with a loose thread on her jacket. "Sounds like something Ruby would do."

"Classic Ruby, always so obsessed with sweets." Pyrrha smiled fondly, crouching down to rustle around in a crate of jars. "Yang said y'all met over the summer."

"Yeah, early July. My dad had some business with Mr. Xiao Long and brought me with."

Pyrrha picked a jar up out of a crate to check the label. "Well I'm glad he did, you seem to have a good influence around here."

Blake's hand stilled against her jacket as she gave the tall woman a confused look. "What makes you say that?"

"Oh no reason in particular, just a feeling." Pyrrha shrugged, looking up from the jar to smile at her. "Yang just seems a lot happier since the last time I saw her, that's all."

The taller woman glanced over at the house before leaning down to hand Blake the jar. "Here, Yang said you like raspberry jam."

Blake hesitantly accepted the jar from her, ears twitching. "Thank you…"

Pyrrha smiled warmly at her, gratitude radiating off of her in strong waves. "Consider it thanks for being there for Yang, I don't know what you've done, but it's helping her."

"All I've done is be her friend…" Blake turned the jar around in her hands awkwardly. "Nothing special…"

Pyrrha looked up at the house at the sound of the door opening, and she jumped down from the truck bed, reaching out to pat her on the shoulder as she walked past.

"Sometimes that's all someone needs."

And when Blake turned around, her eyes instantly locked with Yang's, and maybe Pyrrha was right. 

Maybe what they needed to get better was each other. 

A friend, a partner, and if they were lucky enough, maybe something a little more. 

But for now, they were just happy being there for each other.

\--

**Yang**   
**September 29**   
**10:02 am**

**Blake**  
Hey  
Do you want to go into town with me

**Yang**  
anywhere in particular?

**Blake**  
Not really   
Just kind of bored 

**Yang**  
well you're just in luck miss belladonna because dad gave me the day off  
i've got somewhere in mind we can go to

**Blake**  
I'm not going to the thrift store with you again

**Yang**  
what do you have against the thrift store :/

**Blake**  
I don't trust Maria

**Yang**  
none of us do   
why do you think there's a game we play about seeing who can get verbally destroyed by her the quickest 

**Blake**  
Is this what kids in small towns do for fun  
Do y'all crave entertainment that much

**Yang**  
don't judge us city girl  
desperate times call for desperate measures 

**Blake**  
How desperate do you have to be to harass an old blind woman

**Yang**  
l i s t e n  
she's some relative of ruby's  
and she makes fun of the local kids all the time  
that's just how she vibes

**Blake**  
I'm still not going to the thrift store with you

**Yang**  
ok fine i have another place in mind

**Blake**  
Where

**Yang**  
you'll see

**Blake**  
You're lucky I trust you  
But if you lead me to the thrift store I'm going to ditch you and wander around by myself

**Yang**  
aw blakey how sweet you trust me  
i won't let you down :)

**Blake**  
I'm going to block your number

**Yang**  
i'll tell ruby and she'll be sad

**Blake**  
You win this time Xiao Long

\--

"Where exactly are you taking me?"

Yang brushed off Blake's question with a smirk. "I'm not gonna tell you until we get there, that'll just ruin the surprise."

"You better not be roping me into anything illegal."

"I would never do such a thing."Yang dramatically gasped and raised a hand to cover her heart. "Just what kind of person do you think I am?"

"A crook." Blake rolled her eyes at Yang's antics and smiled. "How much longer are we going to be walking? My feet are killing me."

"It's just down the street, don't be so dramatic." Yang joked, not at all bothered by the walk. It wasn't like they would have been able to drive all the way there anyway, not with the location they were going to being on the busiest street in town.

"I don't think you're allowed to lecture me about dramatics after that display."

"Shut up." Yang reached out and grabbed Blake's hand, intertwining their fingers and gently tugging her down the street until they were finally in front of their destination.

It was a small building, wedged in between the town's old one-room theater and a bustling cafe. Yang used to come here all of the time with Ruby when they were in middle school, and just standing in front of the place is enough to revive old memories she had long since forgotten. 

"A bookstore…" Blake whispered, ears perking up as Yang opened the door for her. 

"Yep," Yang followed Blake into the building and waved to the woman behind the cash register. "I used to take Ruby here to get books when we were younger, and I figured it'd be a nice place to spend our afternoon."

Blake's eyes lit up as she surveyed the long rows of books. "How did I not find out about this place sooner?"

"You're a social recluse sweetheart. I doubt you could even find where I live without a GPS."

"Shut up, I hate you, you're amazing. I love this place."

"Getting a lot of mixed signals over here..."

"Be quiet and let me be a nerd in peace."

"Yes ma'am."

\--

**Yang**   
**October 3**   
**4:06 pm**

**Blake**  
So what's this I hear about you being scared of bees

**Yang**  
oh my god no  
who told you

**Blake**  
Definitely not Weiss

**Yang**  
i can't believe she betrayed me   
i'm gonna beat her ass

**Blake**  
You can beat her ass later   
Yang why do you own like 8 bumblebee plushies if you're scared of bees  
I got you bumblebee print socks for your birthday 

**Yang**  
what i think they're cute  
i can appreciate bees from afar 

**Blake**  
They're literally just bees yang there's nothing scary about them

**Yang**  
one time i got stung by a yellowjacket as a kid and i haven't been the same since 

**Blake**  
Yellowjackets aren't bees Yang they're wasps

**Yang**  
close enough   
if it flies and has a stinger i don't want it anywhere near me  
you're never gonna let me live this down are you

**Blake**  
Oh absolutely not

**Yang**  
goddammit 

\--

Blake's sorting through the files on her laptop when she stumbles across something she had forgotten existed.

An old piece of writing, from when she was in college. It had been years since she'd last seen or thought about this.

She'd stopped writing a long time ago, after Adam had found one of her old pieces and mocked it until she had no choice but to delete it. 

She had kept this one from him, buried in a folder underneath dozens of other documents from her college years.

She remembers enjoying it, and as she starts to reread what she had written all that time ago, she starts to get that familiar urge. 

The urge to write, to create a story or to get her thoughts down on a page. She didn't know if she would be any good at it any more, but it wouldn't hurt to try, to get back into that old hobby, to take back a part of herself that she'd lost all those years ago.

Blake takes a deep breath, creates a new document, and starts to write.

\--

**Two Farmers and a Nerd**   
**October 13**   
**11:34 am**

**Ruby**  
Yang what is this I hear about a new horse

**Yang**  
we have a new horse

**Blake**  
Wait what

**Ruby**  
Yang I'm going to need more info than that  
Spill the deets

**Yang**  
we got a new horse  
that's it that's literally all i know  
i've been banished from the stables 

**Ruby**  
Intriguing   
What could it mean

**Yang**  
ruby I get kicked out of the stables like twice a week this isn't anything unusual 

**Blake**  
Yeah but it's usually because we're messing around in there

**Ruby**  
Exposed   
wait what are you two doing in there

**Yang**   
anyway

**Ruby**  
Are you two making out in the stables

**Yang**  
ANYWAY

**Blake**  
I-

**Ruby**  
I can't believe y'all are making out in the stables 

**Yang**  
WE'RE NOT MAKING OUT IN THE STABLES

**Ruby**  
So you guys are making out elsewhere

**Blake**  
No one is making out with anyone

**Ruby**  
But you two wish you were

**Yang**  
ruby i swear to god i'm going to block your number

**Ruby**  
Do it you won't  
Yang  
Sis

**Blake**  
Wow  
I think she actually blocked you

**Ruby**  
I can't believe this  
Betrayed by my own sister  
It's fine I don't need her anyway

**Blake**  
Do you want me to ask her to unblock you

**Ruby**  
Yes please

\--

"She's a retired racehorse." Yang told Blake when she came to the farm a couple of days later. "Dad offered to take her from a rescue a couple of towns over."

A tall black mare was in the paddock closest to the barn, ears flicking slightly on top of her head as she grazed, occasionally looking up to watch the pair of them warily.

"Does she have a name?" Blake asked, leaning into Yang's side as a rather chilly breeze blew past them.

"Her racing name was Shrouded, but I don't think anyone really called her that." Yang's arm brushed against her back, guiding her into a gentle side hug. "Dad said we could change it if we wanted to, so if you come up with anything similar let us know."

They end up renaming her Gambol Shroud, and when it comes time to write the new name on the chalkboard outside of the mare's stall, Yang lets Blake do it.

And so Gambol Shroud becomes the newest member of the Xiao Long-Rose family.

\--

**Ruby**   
**October 20**   
**3:24 pm**

**Ruby**  
So   
Have you kissed my sister yet

**Blake**  
Ruby oh my god no

**Ruby**  
What   
I know you want too

**Blake**  
What does me wanting to kiss your sister have to do with anything 

**Ruby**  
My birthday is next week and I want to know what I'm going to have to deal with   
I don't want to have to watch you two flirt with each other while I'm trying to enjoy my weekend

**Blake**  
Holy shit Ruby this is so unnecessary 

**Ruby**  
If I walk into the kitchen and you two are making out in there I'm leaving and never coming back

**Blake**  
Ruby I can almost guarantee that won't happen

**Ruby**  
What do you mean almost

**Blake**  
I mean unless I start dating your sister within the next week you won't see me making out with her

**Ruby**  
Oh so it will never happen   
Good to know

**Blake**  
Wow ok  
Nice to know how much faith you have in me

**Ruby**  
No offense but you two are both idiots who are too nervous to ask each other out

**Blake**  
I don't even know if she likes me back

**Ruby**  
I-  
I hate it here you're both so stupid

**Blake**  
What's that supposed to mean 

**Ruby**  
I can't do this anymore   
Blake just ask her out I promise you won't regret it

**Blake**  
I'll think about it

**Ruby**  
My head is in my hands I can't believe this  
You know I expect this from my dumbass sister but not from you

**Blake**  
Hey that's my crush you're talking about

**Ruby**  
And she could be your girlfriend for the low low price of you finally asking her out on a date

**Blake**  
One day I'll ask her out 

**Ruby**  
Cool I'll see you when it happens 5 years from now

**Blake**  
Why am I friends with you

\--

When Ruby arrives back in Patch for the weekend, she invites Blake over to carve pumpkins with them.

"Ruby please don't gesture with the knife." Yang pleaded, hesitantly setting a pumpkin down in front of her sister. "We're not going to the emergency room today."

"I'll behave." Ruby said with a pout, stabbing the top of her pumpkin violently with a knife. 

"I don't think behaving involves that much violence." Blake teased, shaking her head. "What did that poor pumpkin ever do to you?"

"It's covered in dirt and therefore it's getting me dirty." Ruby said, slapping the top of a pumpkin, avoiding the spot where her knife was sticking out. "We picked them all from the garden this morning."

"I picked them this morning." Yang flicked Ruby's forehead as she walked past her, setting a pumpkin down in front of Blake. "Someone decided to sleep in."

"I told you, my alarm didn't go off!" 

Yang rolled her eyes and sat down onto the chair next to Blake. "You can't deny that you still slept in sis."

Ruby settled down further into her chair as she grumbled. "Stupid sisters and their stupid logic…"

"I heard that."

"You were supposed to."

"Well then fuck you Ruby."

"Love ya too sis."

\--

October 31st was Ruby's birthday, and when Yang asks Blake to help her make the cake, she can't say no.

"Have you ever even baked a cake before?" Yang asked, crouching down to peak into a cabinet, rummaging around and looking for a tin. 

"A couple of times with my mom," Blake replied, leaning against the counter. "But it's been a while since the last time I baked anything."

"Well you're in luck sweetheart," Yang stood up and dropped a couple of bowls and a cake tin onto the counter beside Blake. "I'm a master baker."

"Oh I wasn't aware I was in the presence of such greatness." Blake smiled and leaned into Yang's side. "What are we going to be making, oh great master baker?"

Yang rolled her eyes and passed Blake a laminated index card. A simple recipe for chocolate cake was written on it in neat cursive lettering, carefully printed to avoid smudging.

"It's mom's old recipe." Yang said quietly, looking over Blake's shoulder with a sad smile. "She used to make it every year for Ruby's birthday."

"Well I hope I can do it justice." Blake whispered, handing the index card back to Yang with utmost care. "I'm not exactly the greatest baker."

"I don't think Ruby will mind. She's a sucker for anything sweet."

"I know, I was there when she inhaled an entire packet of Oreos like it was nothing."

"My sister is a monster."

"She truly is."

\--

"Are you doing anything after this?" Blake asked while they waited for the cake to bake in the oven.

"No, not really." Yang leaned back in her chair, briefly lifting her arm to check her watch. "I think Ruby's gonna go out trick or treating with Penny."

"Isn't she turning twenty-two today?"

"Yeah but it's an old tradition for her and Penny to go out trick or treating." Yang leaned back slightly in her chair, smiling to herself. "If anything, they'll stop by the Arcs' place and give all their candy to the younger kids there."

"Mom's making me hand out candy this year." Blake said, idly drawing circles on the table with a finger. "Do you wanna come over and keep me company?"

"Depends, do I get to eat some of the candy?"

"I'm sure my mom wouldn't notice if a couple of pieces were missing."

"Hell yeah."

\--

"Not gonna lie Blake, the candy your mom got kind of sucks."

Blake snorted and gently nudged Yang's shoulder. "Be quiet, or else she'll hear you."

"Not my fault she decided to only get lollipops." Yang crossed her legs on her chair and shifted the bowl of candy in her lap. "These poor kids..."

"I'm sorry are lollipops not a type of candy?"

"Miss Blake Belladonna," Yang leaned over with a grin, face dangerously close to Blake's. "Are you telling me that lollipops are your favorite type candy?"

"That's not at all what I'm saying-"

"I can't believe lollipops are your favorite candy."

Blake groaned and lifted a hand up to rub her face. "I hate you so much. I'm never letting you come over here again."

Yang laughed loudly, reaching over to gently grab Blake's hand. "It's ok sweetheart, I won't judge you too much for your trash taste in candy."

"Don't be a bitch and let me enjoy my lollipop in peace. Besides, you like candy corn. Only weirdos like fucking candy corn."

"Shhhh Blake, no swearing in front of the kids. Think of their impressionable little minds."

"Fuck kids."

"Why are you like this?"

\--

When Yang leaves, she pulls Blake close and kisses her on the cheek. 

_"I'll see you later."_ She had said, squeezing Blake's hand with a smile, cheeks flushed pink. 

Blake could only nod numbly, fighting the urge to lift her hand up to brush her cheek, replaying the memory of soft lips pressed against her skin.

And then later that night, while Blake's laying in bed, staring up at her ceiling, unable to sleep, she realizes something. 

Her phone screen lights up the room, bathing her face in a faint glow, but she isn't looking at the device and the text chat it is currently displaying. 

_I like you._

Her fingers twitch with the urge to write those three simple words out, to lay it all on the line and confess the feelings building up inside her chest. 

It had been hours since Yang had left, but she's still at the forefront of Blake's mind. 

_I like you, Yang._

Then again, it wasn't often that Blake wasn't thinking about her these days.

Maybe it was because every time Yang laughed or smiled, Blake's heart would flutter inside her chest and ignite a warm feeling there that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Maybe it was because being with Yang felt freeing, like she had personally destroyed the shackles weighing Blake down with a soft smile and kind eyes. 

Maybe it was because Blake just liked her, liked being around her, listening to her laugh, seeing her smile, just enjoying every moment they spent together. 

Blake lifted her phone up in front of her face, eyes glued to Yang's contact name, fingers gliding over the keyboard.

_I love you._

Blake's fingers still, eyes widening at the words she had unknowingly typed, rapidly tapping the delete button as she read them again and it dawned upon her.

_'Fuck.'_ She turns off her phone and drops it onto her chest, heart beating hard and fast underneath her hands. _'I love her.'_

She should have known, should have seen the signs and figured it out.

She had felt something like this a long time ago, with someone who would come to hurt her without remorse, with someone who didn't care about her like she thought he would. 

That wasn't what love was, wasn't what it was supposed to feel like.

But this, whatever this was, was what love was supposed to be.

_I think I'm falling in love with Yang._

Love had hurt her so many times before, but somehow, love was different this time. 

Safety had never been something she thought she could associate with love, not with Adam. 

But this time, she knew, it wouldn't hurt. 

Not with Yang.

\--

**Ruby**   
**November 1**   
**10:04 am**

**Blake**  
Hey  
So you've asked someone out before right

**Ruby**  
Yeah  
Why do you ask

**Blake**  
Well...

**Ruby**  
WAIT  
IS THIS ABOUT MY SISTER

**Blake**  
Maybe

**Ruby**  
Is it finally happening   
Is my suffering about to end   
Are you finally going to ask my sister out on a date

**Blake**  
I mean I want to  
I like her a lot   
Like a lot a lot

**Ruby**  
Like a lot a lot a lot

**Blake**  
Yes a lot a lot 

**Ruby**  
Hell yeah   
So wait what does this have to do with me asking Penny out

**Blake**  
Well you've asked someone out before and I haven't   
You're the more experienced one here

**Ruby**  
Blake I was an absolute disaster   
I'm still surprised she said yes

**Blake**  
What happened

**Ruby**  
It was the beginning of our junior year of high school   
And homecoming was coming up and I wanted to ask her to the dance   
Cause I'd been crushing on her for the past like 3 years

**Blake**  
Did it really take you 3 years to make a move

**Ruby**  
Don't laugh at me she was cute and nice and I didn't know what to do about it  
Anyway back to me making a fool of myself   
I went to Yang for advice but she's a dumbass so that didn't work so then I went to Uncle Qrow instead

**Blake**  
Oh no  
Why would you do that

**Ruby**  
No one ever said I was smart 

**Blake**  
Did you actually do what he told you

**Ruby**  
No I have dignity   
So anyway long story short when I went to ask her I tripped and we both fell down the stairs and I got a concussion but she said yes and we've been together for 6 years :)

**Blake**  
So all I have to do is shove Yang down a flight of stairs and she'll go out with me

**Ruby**  
NO

**Blake**  
It worked for you

**Ruby**  
How about you don't push my sister down stairs and ask her out like a normal person instead 

**Blake**  
But what if I get nervous and mess up and she never talks to me again

**Ruby**  
It can't be worse than what happened with me  
Yang would never do that she likes you too much :)

**Blake**  
I don't know Ruby

**Ruby**  
Blake believe me when I say this  
Yang adores you   
If you ask her out she will say yes

**Blake**  
Are you sure 

**Ruby**  
Blake I have never been more sure about something in my entire life  
You can do this 

**Blake**  
I'll think about it

**Ruby**  
I'll take what I can get  
I'm rooting for you :)

**Blake**  
Thank you Ruby

\--

**Two Farmers and a Nerd**   
**November 3**   
**7:08 pm**

**Yang**  
ruby why did weiss just text me about you setting a fire 

**Ruby**  
Don't worry about it

**Yang**  
ruby rose  
what did you do

**Blake**  
Ruby are you committing arson  
Why didn't you invite me

**Ruby**  
I'm not committing arson  
Don't worry about what I'm doing

**Yang**  
i'm asking weiss what you did

**Ruby**  
Wait no   
It was an accident 

**Yang**  
i-  
what the fuck do you mean it was an accident 

**Blake**  
Ruby how do you accidentally set something on fire

**Ruby**  
I forgot I was holding a lighter 

**Blake**  
Why did you have a lighter 

**Ruby**  
I don't remember   
I was holding a lighter and then boom there was suddenly a fire 

**Yang**  
ruby i can't believe you accidentally set a fire

**Ruby**  
I'm the dumbest person I know

**Yang**  
haha dumbass 

**Blake**  
Point and laugh

**Ruby**  
:(

\--

"Y'know, you've been spending a lot of time with Yang lately." 

"Well yeah," Blake looked up from her phone and over at her mother. "I like her a lot."

"Oh so you like her." Kali smirked teasingly, peering over Blake's shoulder to look at her phone. "Good to know."

Blake turned off her phone and blushed furiously, glaring at the older woman. "Mom!"

"Calm down, I'm just teasing you." Kali said, rolling her eyes and walking away. "It's just nice to see you've found someone that makes you happy."

Happy, that's how Yang made her feel.

It was nice to be happy again.

\--

"Your hands are so tiny."

"What?" 

"Your hands," Yang repeated, smiling to herself. "They're so small."

"My hands aren't that small…" Blake huffed, spreading her fingers out on the porch wood. They didn't look that small to her...

"No look," Yang said with a giggle, setting her hand down next to Blake's. "Tiny."

And she was right, in a way. Blake's hands were small compared to Yang's, the blonde's fingers reaching an inch above her own.

"Maybe your hands are just really big." Blake grumbled, glaring down at their hands. 

Fingers slid around her wrist, and Yang lifted her hand up to press their palms together. 

"Little hands." Yang teased, curling the tops of her fingers over Blake's. "They're cute."

"You calling me cute?"

"Maybe." Yang said, intertwining their fingers. "What are you gonna do about it?"

And this was her chance, an opportunity to say something, _anything_ about her feelings. 

She thinks about her talk with Ruby, all of the times since then where she looked at Yang and almost let her feelings slip in a heartfelt confession. 

But then she looks up at Yang, at her bright eyes and the light blush dusting her cheeks, and all rational thought threatened to escape her, and she knew if she said anything she'd make a fool of herself. 

So she stayed silent, not trusting herself to speak, couldn't let her feelings run wild and risk ruining the best friendship she'd ever had. 

Blake squeezed Yang's hand and forced herself to look away from her friend and towards the sky, at the rapidly setting sun.

One day, she would be able to gather the courage to tell Yang how she felt.

But for now, all she could do was sit there, hold her hand, and smile.

\--

Blake spends one of the last days of Autumn on the farm with Yang raking leaves.

"I swear to god if Zwei ruins one more pile I'm gonna lose it." Blake muttered as the little corgi ran full speed towards them, tongue lolling out of his mouth as he bounced along the ground.

"Hey be nice," Yang says, quickly leaning down to scoop the small dog up into her arms as he got dangerously close to a pile. "He's an old man. Let him have his fun."

"His fun destroys all of our hard work." 

"Aw but look at how happy he is." Yang shifted her grip on the small corgi, hugging him tightly to her chest before placing him back down on the ground. "Poor little guy hasn't been this excited in weeks."

Blake sighed and shook her head, watching defeatedly as Zwei launched himself into the nearest leaf pile, sending leaves scattering around the yard, Yang's laugh loud and bright beside her. 

"He's lucky you like him so much…" Blake grumbled, shivering slightly as a rather chilly breeze blew past them.

"Are you cold?" Yang asked, hands already fiddling with the zipper of her coat. "Here, take my jacket."

"I'm fine, you don't have to do that." Blake protests, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. She should have checked the temperature when she got up that morning.

Yang slips her jacket off anyway and presses it against her crossed arms, giving Blake no choice but to accept the article of clothing. 

"What about you?" Blake asked, slipping her arms through the sleeves. "Won't you get cold?"

"Nah, I'll be fine." Yang stretched her arms over her head, the muscles in her back and shoulders flexing underneath the material of her sleeveless turtleneck. "I run warm anyways."

"We should probably clean this up." Blake said, glaring at Zwei and the mess of leaves he'd made all over the ground around them.

"In a minute." Yang leaned into her side and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. "Let Zwei have one last moment of fun before we chase him off."

"Whatever you say, sweetheart." Blake smiled, dropping her head onto Yang's shoulder and sighing contently.

In reality, a minute really meant the next fifteen, because that's how long they stood there together, watching a little corgi frolic in a pile of fallen leaves.

Fall may be ending, but something between them was starting, and with every passing day, whatever it was grew stronger.

Blake couldn't help but be excited to see what the future had in store for them.


	3. Winter

**Blake**  
**November 16**  
**11:48 pm**

**Yang**  
ruby just called and she wanted me to tell you she says hi

 **Blake**  
Why is she calling you so late  
She has my phone number she can tell me herself

 **Yang**  
apparently her sleep schedule is absolutely fucked  
and she decided that now was as good a time as ever to call her dear old sister

 **Blake**  
She's been back at Beacon for 2 weeks   
She was fine before she left what happened

 **Yang**  
lmao weiss said that like the moment they were back in the dorm she pulled an all nighter and never recovered   
apparently ruby hasn't slept in like 3 days   
her diet is composed of coffee and pure sugar 

**Blake**  
Poor weiss  
I wish I was there to see it 

**Yang**  
winter break starts in a week  
soon we will see what she has become 

\--

"Yang! Blake!"

"Ruby, please stop yelling."

Yang laughed as Ruby turned to glare at Weiss, hopping out of the truck to stand beside her roommate. "Oh come on Weiss, it's winter break! Let me live my life!"

"I can't wait for Pyrrha to get here so I can get as far away from you as possible." Weiss said, scowling at her roommate, checking her phone and shifting her bag around her shoulders. "Thirty more minutes…"

Weiss walked over to them, sighing heavily and pulling her jacket tighter around herself. "I hate winter."

"Don’t you also hate summer?" Blake said with a quiet laugh, and Yang's heart fluttered in her chest at the sound.

"I hate a lot of things."

"Do you hate me?" Ruby asked, leaning into Weiss's side, glasses threatening to slip off of her nose, a sign that she probably broke the hinges again. 

"Yes."

"Ouch Weiss, I thought we were friends."

"The only friend I have here is Blake."

"Ok wow," Yang raised a hand and pressed it over her heart in mock offense. "What am I to you?"

"A nobody."

"I can't believe this. I thought we had something special."

"Pyrrha has five minutes to get here or I'm going to start walking." 

\--

That night, Yang finds herself sitting out on the old porch swing with Blake, bundled up together underneath a pile of blankets, steaming cups of hot chocolate in their hands.

"Y'know," Blake whispers to her, eyes turned skyward. "I never really could see the stars when I lived in the city."

Blake shifted closer, her head dropping to rest on Yang's shoulder. "I never knew they could be so beautiful…"

"What was it like, living in the city?" Yang asked quietly, fingers tensing slightly around her mug.

"It was loud, obviously, and there were always people everywhere." Blake took a small sip of her hot chocolate. "You didn't have to drive to get anywhere though, but the subway was always an… interesting place."

"Interesting?"

Blake smiled to herself, fingers tapping idly against her mug. "I once saw a dude pull a sandwich out of his jacket, take a bite, and put it back. It wasn't even wrapped or anything, just a loose sandwich in his coat. It was bizarre."

Yang laughed, wondering to herself what it would be like to see something like that in public without warning. "Did stuff like that happen all the time?"

"Not really." Blake took another sip, before pulling the blanket more securely around herself. "Every once and a while something weird like that would happen, but you had to be paying attention to really notice it."

It was weird to think about Blake being anywhere but in Patch, a painful reminder that Blake's stay here was most likely going to remain temporary, that she'd be leaving for the city at the end of spring.

Yang hesitated for a small moment, heart beating fast in her chest as her nerves threatened to overwhelm her. "Do you miss living in the city?"

"Honestly, not as much as I thought I would." Blake said, her ears flicking gently against Yang's chin. "It's actually kind of nice, living out here."

A cold breeze blew past them, an occurrence that was quickly becoming more and more frequent in the last couple of days, and Blake shivered, curling closer into her side.

They sat there together in silence, looking up at the stars and drinking their hot chocolate, until Ruby came out to call them back in.

And when Blake leaves a couple of minutes later, she gives Yang's hand a tight squeeze, her smile soft and sweet as she turns around to join her mother in the car. 

Yang doesn't go back into the house for half an hour after that, staring up at the sky, thoughts full of the twinkling stars and how much they reminded her of Blake's eyes. 

Gold, she decided, was her favorite color.

\--

"Hey Ruby?" Yang leaned against the doorframe of her sister's room, gently rapping her metal knuckles against the wood to get Ruby's attention.

Ruby hummed, slipping her headphones off and turning her chair around to look at her. "What's up?"

"Me and Uncle Qrow are going into town. Wanna come with?"

Ruby immediately slammed her laptop shut and leaped up from her chair, snatching her jacket off of her bed, cheering as she darted past Yang and down the stairs. 

"I'll take that as a yes." Yang laughed at her sister's antics, closing the door behind herself and following Ruby down the stairs. 

Qrow was standing by the door, keys in hand, watching Ruby struggle to pull her shoes on with an amused smile. "Do you need some help there, pipsqueak?" 

"Shut up." Ruby grumbled, glaring at him as she finally got her shoes on and stood up. "Let's go already."

"We were waiting on you kiddo."

Ruby ignored him, opening the front door and dashing down the porch steps and over to the truck. 

"College kids." Qrow muttered as Yang walked past him and out the door. "Hooligans, the whole lot of them."

"Didn't you go to college, Uncle Qrow?"

"That doesn't mean anything."

"I think it means you just indirectly called yourself a hooligan."

"...shut up and get in the car, Yang."

\--

Qrow stopped outside of the local bookstore and shooed them out of the car. 

"I'll be back in an hour. Don't break anything." He told them gruffly, pointing an accusatory finger at his oldest niece. "Especially you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means stay out of trouble."

Qrow didn't wait for them to say anything else and drove off, leaving Ruby and Yang standing on the curb.

"Come on." Ruby latched onto Yang's arm, tugging her backwards towards the bookstore. "We're wasting precious time."

"We literally have an hour."

"Precious time!"

Yang rolled her eyes, walking over to the door and holding it open for her sister. "Nerd."

Ruby stuck her tongue out at her as she passed, before making a beeline towards the fiction section near the back of the store. 

The last time Yang had been there, it was with Blake, and while their friend wasn't physically there with them, Yang was still thinking about her.

Specifically, what to get her as a gift.

"Whatcha doing?" Ruby asked, leaning over her shoulder to look at the book she had just pulled off of the shelf. 

"Nothing."

Ruby smirked teasingly, pressing further into her side. "Getting a gift for your girlfriend?"

Yang blushed furiously and glared at her sister. "She's not my girlfriend…"

"But you want her to be." Ruby shot back, her grin widening. "You can't lie to me, Yang. You have it bad for Blake."

Yang sighed, placing the book back on the shelf. "Fine, you're right, I have a huge crush on Blake."

"And we're here so you can find a gift for her?"

"Yes…"

"Hah!" Ruby leaped back, turning around to continue browsing the shelves. "I knew you'd never be caught dead here without an ulterior motive."

"Shut up."

"You're not denying it. Admit it, you're illiterate."

"I know how to read, Ruby."

"Debatable."

"I hate you so much."

\--

By the time Qrow picks them up an hour later, Ruby's finally finished teasing Yang.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" He asks them as they climb into the truck, his fingers tapping the steering wheel rhythmically.

"Yep," Yang holds up the bag in her hand with a smile. "We didn't even have to kill anybody to get it."

"Disappointing."

"I thought you told us not to break anything." Ruby piped up after buckling her seatbelt, pointing an accusatory finger at her uncle. "And to, y'know, stay out of trouble."

"I never said anything about not killing anyone. Y'all are free to do that whenever you want."

"Murder is illegal, Uncle Qrow!"

"Sure, kiddo. Whatever you say."

\--

Later, Yang finds herself lying in her bed, staring up at the ceiling, wide awake despite the fact that it's 3:00 am and she has to get up early that morning. 

_I like you._

She can't stop thinking about Ruby's teasing back at the bookstore. Her sister was right, she can't deny it anymore. She likes Blake, a lot, more than she's liked anyone in a very long time.

_I like you, Blake._

She's wanted to say it for so long, for days, weeks, months. Hell, she's wanted to say it since the day they met. 

_I like you, so much._

She's not scared to admit that she likes Blake, far from it actually. She's liked people in this way before, fleeting crushes that she never considered pursuing, but Blake is different from all of them, in a way she's never felt before. 

_I love you._

That's the part of it all that Yang's afraid to admit, that she loves Blake. 

It's such a strange feeling, being in love.

She's felt love before, but not in this way. She knew love for her family, for her sister, her dad, her uncle, her mothers, the one that gave birth to her and the one that raised her in that woman's place.

But this, this was a different kind of love. 

Summer had told her, a long time ago, that love was complicated. She didn't understand her back then, and she barely understands her now.

She loves Blake so much. She loves spending time with her, loves making her laugh and smile, loves just simply being by her side.

But Blake's stay here is supposed to be temporary, or at least, that's what she said. That she moved back in with her parents for a year, and that she would be returning to the city at the end of the spring. 

That was how this was supposed to end, with Blake leaving at the end of May, heading for some far off place that Yang couldn't even fathom being in, and she would be left behind. 

And yet, despite all of that, Yang wanted to get closer to her, wanted to see what she hid behind that wall she had built for herself, a wall that Yang had slowly been chipping at since the day they met. 

The thought of Blake leaving doesn't scare her as much as it should have. Once upon a time, it would have terrified her, stopped her from pursuing a friendship with Blake in an act of self-preservation, to protect herself from the hurt that would come when Blake inevitably left. 

She wants to be Blake's friend, _wants to be something more than that._

Something more, that what she wants with Blake, for them to be something more than friends. 

_I love you, Blake._

Maybe, just maybe, she has a chance. 

She'll never know if she doesn't try. 

\--

Yang gives Blake the book just as she's leaving the farm one day. 

"What's this for?" Blake asked, hesitantly accepting the book from Yang's outstretched hands. 

"Me and Ruby went to the bookstore the other day," Yang said, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. "And I saw it and I wanted to get it for you so…"

"We went there together weeks ago and yet," Blake whispered, slightly breathless, mouth twitching upwards into a smile. "You remembered…"

"Of course I remembered." Yang said quietly, looking down at her feet and desperately trying to ignore her quickly flushing cheeks. "I remember everything about you."

A hand brushes against her cheek, tilting her head upwards and to the side, and then soft lips were being pressed against her skin.

"Thank you." Blake whispered, an unfamiliar gleam in her eyes as she pulled back and smiled sweetly up at her. "I'll see you later?"

Yang could only nod numbly as Blake descended the porch steps, the faunus woman's fingers wrapped tightly around her new book as she left. 

Yang lifted a hand and grazed her cheek, holding back a giddy smile as Blake waved goodbye.

This woman was going to be the death of her.

\--

"What happened to your jacket?"

Yang looked up from her phone, glancing over at Blake and then down at her sleeve. "Oh this? Well, Zwei decided I couldn't have nice things and took it upon himself to turn my jacket into his new chew toy."

"You're telling me that a little corgi ripped a giant hole in your leather jacket?"

"Yep."

Blake looked down at the sleeping corgi in Yang’s lap and then back at the blonde's torn jacket. "I swear that dog is evil."

"Evil? This little guy? No way."

"Live in denial as long as you want Yang, but I know the truth. He's a monster."

"Whatever you say, sweetheart."

\--

"Hey mom?" Blake peeked her head into her mother’s office, slipping her phone into her pocket and standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Yes Blake?"

"Can I order something online?"

Kali stifled a surprised laugh, turning in her chair to stare incredulously at her daughter. "Why are you asking me for permission?"

"...cause it'll be coming to your house?"

Kali sighed, shaking her head with a smile. "We've gone over this sweetheart, you don’t need to ask me if you want to do something. You're not a little kid anymore."

"...so I can order it?"

"Yes, Blake." Kali turned her chair back around, rolling her eyes. "You can order it."

"Thank you." Blake pulled her phone out of her pocket and was just about to leave before her mother called out to her.

"What are you ordering anyway?"

"A leather jacket." 

"Why do you need a leather jacket?"

"I don’t." Blake fiddled with her phone nervously. "It's for Yang…"

"Oh, why didn't you say that sooner? I don't care if you buy your girlfriend a gift."

"She's not my girlfriend!"

Ghira appeared from behind Blake, glancing between his wife and daughter curiously. "Who's Blake's girlfriend?"

"Yang." Kali said immediately, ignoring her daughter's glare. "Blake's buying her a leather jacket."

"Oh I like her." Ghira smiled at his daughter. "She's nice and has good manners."

"Yang's not my girlfriend!"

"Could have fooled me."

"I'm going back to my room."

"Tell Yang I said hi!"

\--

The longer Blake stays in Patch, the more she doesn't want to move back to Vale. 

The city had never really been her style, but Adam had wanted to live there, and she had no choice but to follow him there. 

But now, with him long gone and buried deep beneath the ground, far away from her and the people she cared about, she had a choice. 

She could stay in Patch, a small middle of nowhere farming town, or go back to Vale, a huge bustling city that was plagued with horrid memories of the man that almost ended her life. 

It would be harder to find a place to live, she reckoned, and finding a job might be more difficult, but none of it would be tainted by him.

The more she thought about it, the more appealing staying in Patch became. 

\--

**Two Farmers and a Nerd**  
**November 25**  
**12:09 pm**

**Ruby**  
Blake Belladonna 

**Blake**  
What

 **Ruby**  
Do you wanna come over and bake cookies  
You are legally obligated to say yes

 **Blake**  
Says who

 **Ruby**  
Me and my lawyer

 **Yang**  
you don't have a lawyer

 **Ruby**  
Don't expose me like this  
Blake do you wanna come over and bake cookies or not  
I promise not to eat them all

 **Yang**  
don't trust her she's lying 

**Ruby**  
You have no proof

 **Blake**  
The last time I baked cookies with y'all you ate them all   
I think it's safe to say that's all the proof we need

 **Ruby**  
I didn't come here to be shamed for my actions :(

 **Yang**  
then maybe you shouldn't have eaten all of the cookies 

**Ruby**  
If all you two are gonna do is harass me than I rescind my invitation   
Blake you aren't allowed anywhere near the farm anymore

 **Yang**  
hey blake wanna come over 

**Ruby**  
Wait no

 **Blake**  
Yes

 **Ruby**  
Yang you can't do that

 **Yang**  
too late sis   
blake get your ass over here we're making cookies and ruby can't have any

 **Blake**  
Hell yeah

 **Ruby**  
Wait please   
I won't eat them all this time I swear

 **Yang**  
good cause you're not getting any

 **Ruby**  
This is the worst timeline  
I can't believe I'm getting harassed by my sister and her girlfriend 

**Blake**  
I'm sorry what was that last bit

**(Yang has left the chat)**

**Blake**  
Wow  
You chased her away

 **Ruby**  
Revenge tastes so sweet  
Almost as sweet as those cookies I'm going to steal from you two

**(Blake has added Yang to the chat)**

**Blake**  
Your sister is threatening me

 **Yang**  
i can't even make my dramatic exit in peace

 **Ruby**  
There is no peace in baking   
Only war

 **Yang**  
i'm gonna tell your girlfriend you're being mean to me

 **Ruby**  
Don't you dare bring Penny into this

 **Blake**  
Do it Yang

 **Ruby**  
Wait no please

 **Yang**  
get fucked ruby

**(Ruby has renamed the chat Yang is a bitch)**

**Yang**  
hey watch your fucking language 

**Ruby**  
:(

\--

Yang is sitting out on the porch waiting for her when Blake arrives at the farm.

"Hey," Yang greeted, giving the faunus a cute little wave before pointing at a bundle of fabric in Blake's arms. "Whatcha got there?"

"It's for you." Blake held the jacket out towards Yang, smiling nervously and shifting on her feet. "I know Zwei kind of destroyed your leather jacket so I got you a new one."

"You didn't have to…" Yang accepted the jacket from her outstretched hands, smiling softly and smoothing over the material with her fingers.

"I wanted to."

"Thanks, Blake." Yang tucked the jacket under her right arm, reaching out with her left to pull Blake into a tight hug. 

"You're welcome." Blake swallowed heavily, fighting down the butterflies rising in her stomach and wrapping her arms around Yang. 

"We should get inside," Yang said, pulling away and jabbing a thumb behind herself to point at the house. "Ruby's already started on the cookies."

"She didn't even wait for me to get here?"

"I mean we did just harass her for eating all of the cookies we made last time."

"Touche."

\--

Blake spends the first snowfall of the year at the farm. 

"It's snowing!" Ruby yelled, bounding down the stairs with an excited grin, nearly tripping over her own feet in her eagerness.

"Yes Ruby, we can see that." Weiss walked down the stairs much slower than her roommate to join Yang and Blake in the living room. "Please stop screaming."

"But Weiss it's snowing."

"It snows every year Ruby," Yang reached over and ruffled her sister's hair. "This isn’t anything new."

"But it's Blake's first snow in Patch!" Ruby bounced up and down, gesturing at Blake with her hands. "We gotta celebrate!"

"With what?"

"A snowball fight!" 

Weiss sighed, turning her head to look out the window and at the still falling snow outside. "Is there even enough snow for a snowball fight?"

"There's plenty!" Ruby whirled around to fling open the door and dash outside, but Yang reached out and grabbed the back of her hood before she could get very far.

"Wait a minute sis, do you have your gloves? I'm not having a repeat of last year."

"Yep," Ruby said, pulling her gloves out of her jacket pocket and slipping them on. "Can we go out now?"

"Yes." 

Ruby threw the door open, sending cold air blowing over them as she bounded down the porch steps and out onto the snow-covered yard. 

"What happened last year?" Blake asked Yang quietly, shutting the front door behind herself before reaching up and adjusting her hat around her ears. 

"Ruby forgot to wear her gloves and almost got frostbite." Yang explained, walking down the porch steps to join Weiss and Ruby in the yard. "She forgets at least once or twice a year so we always try to remind her."

"Hey, hurry it up you two! We don’t have all day!"

"Shut up Ruby we're gonna kick your ass."

"I'd like to see you try."

Half an hour later, they successfully defeat Weiss and Ruby, and to say no one was surprised, would be an understatement. 

\--

"Here," Yang says, sitting down next to Blake in front of the fireplace and passing her a mug. "Ruby made hot chocolate."

"Thanks again," Blake looked out the window, at the snow still steadily falling outside. "For letting me stay the night." 

"Yeah, no problem." Yang crossed her legs, fiddling with her mug in her lap. "We love having you here."

"Some of us more than others!" Ruby called as she walked past them to head up the stairs, winking at her sister.

"Oh is that so?" Blake said as Ruby disappeared to her room, smirking at Yang teasingly. "Are you going soft on me Xiao Long?"

"In your dreams, Belladonna."

But then Yang reaches out and grabs her hand, interlacing their fingers with a soft smile.

Maybe Blake's dreams are more of a reality than she thinks. 

\--

**Ruby**  
**December 4**  
**2:08 pm**

**Ruby**  
Dad's hanging up mistletoe again

 **Yang**  
oh my god no  
where

 **Ruby**  
On the porch by the steps   
He said it'd help give you a "push in the right direction" with Blake

 **Yang**  
i can't fucking believe that dad of all people would be meddling in my love life

 **Ruby**  
Is it that surprising   
Everyone knows you like her and are too much of a disaster to do anything about it

 **Yang**  
brb telling blake to come up the side steps from now on

 **Ruby**  
Don't you dare  
I did not almost fall off of the ladder twice for you to be a coward

 **Yang**  
so you admit to being a part of this

 **Ruby**  
I plead the fifth 

**Yang**  
ruby take down the mistletoe

 **Ruby**  
Can't dad already took the ladder away  
It's not like we're doing this just to torment you   
It's tradition 

**Yang**  
and this tradition is going to make me do something stupid

 **Ruby**  
Oh so nothing new

 **Yang**  
wow ok fuck you too ruby  
now i'm not telling you about how i was going to ask blake out

 **Ruby**  
Wait you're gonna do it  
Like deadass 

**Yang**  
well yeah  
i've been planning to for a while

 **Ruby**  
Wait holy shit you have to tell me everything right now

 **Yang**  
no <3

 **Ruby**  
You know it's moments like these that I wish I was an only child

 **Yang**  
tragic

 **Ruby**  
What does Blake even see in you

 **Yang**  
you say that like she likes me back

 **Ruby**  
You know I never thought someone could be so oblivious   
Then you met Blake and it all suddenly made sense

 **Yang**  
what's that supposed to mean

 **Ruby**  
It means your crush on Blake is mutual dumbass  
You literally just said you were going to ask her out

 **Yang**  
hey watch your language young lady

 **Ruby**  
Is that seriously all you got out of that

 **Yang**  
sorry i can't hear you over the sound of sam trying to peck me to death

 **Ruby**  
Why are you texting me from the chicken coup

 **Yang**  
cause fuck you that's why

 **Ruby**  
I hate it here

\--

Yang completely forgets about the mistletoe for _weeks._

 _"What's up with the mistletoe?"_ Blake had asked one day, gesturing behind herself at the fake hanging plant as she walked through the door. 

_"Mom always hung up mistletoe when me and Ruby were younger."_ Yang had gone on to explain, smiling sadly at the old memory. _"It kind of became a tradition of ours after a while."_

And that was the last time she'd thought about it. It wasn't like the mistletoe was a new addition to the house, no Yang had gotten used to seeing it on the porch during the winter months.

She doesn't think twice about stepping out onto the porch next to Blake.

They're waiting for Kali to come pick Blake up, bundled up in coats as they talk quietly, their voices the only sound that could be heard on an otherwise silent night.

Or at least, they were talking until Blake suddenly trails off, eyes widening as she stares at something above Yang's head.

"What is it?" Yang asks, tilting her head to the side as Blake weakly lifts a hand and points.

"Mistletoe…" The faunus whispers with a small, nervous laugh, and Yang's gaze snaps upwards, and sure enough, there it is.

The mistletoe that less than two weeks ago they had hung up, the very same decoration that Ruby had joked about Blake and Yang getting stuck under.

Yang blushes furiously, eyes darting between the mistletoe and an equally as red Blake. "Um…"

She doesn't know what to do, doesn't know how to process the situation she suddenly finds herself in. She's at a total loss, frozen in place, staring down at the woman she's hopelessly in love with.

But then Blake's reaching up, one hand hesitantly cupping Yang's cheek, the other coming up with rest on where her neck and shoulder meet. 

"Tradition is tradition… right?" Blake says quietly, leaning up and oh.

Soft lips press against her cheek, dangerously close to the corner of her mouth, lingering against her skin before slowly pulling away, Blake's hands lingering on her body.

"I don’t think that counts as a kiss Blake…" Yang finds herself whispering boldly, mentally berating herself for her forwardness and how breathless she sounds. 

"Oh?" Blake takes a small step closer, and Yang wraps her arms around her waist. They're so close now, close enough that Yang can make out every little speckle of amber in her bright, golden eyes. "Care to show me how it's done then?"

It's an invitation, for something they've both been wanting to do for a very long time but were never brave enough to take the plunge. 

Until now. 

\--

Blake's unsure of who leans in first, but she's positive that it's her that sighs contently the moment their lips meet for the first time. 

She's thought about this exact moment a dozen times before, but none of her previous daydreams could ever compare to this, to the feeling of Yang's warm body pressed up against her own, arms holding her close, hands achingly gentle against her lower back.

God, so this was what it was like to kiss someone who actually cared about her.

They have to pull back for air, but Blake drags Yang back down the moment she can, and Yang smiles widely against her mouth, pulling away moments later with a cute little giggle.

"I'm sorry." Yang gives her a quick peck, bright laughter spilling uncontrollably from her lips as she pulls Blake closer, pressing their foreheads together. "I laugh when I'm happy."

Blake kisses her again, lingering only for a small moment before Yang's smile grows too big once again and they have to separate.

"So kissing me makes you happy?" Blake teases quietly, hands fiddling with the collar of Yang's jacket. "I'll keep that in mind."

Yang's smile only grows wider, and she opens her mouth to say something else, but is interrupted by the steadily increasing sound of tires rolling over freshly packed snow, the noise growing louder and louder by the second.

Right, Blake has to leave...

Blake's arms slowly slip off of Yang's shoulders, and Yang pulls away, her hand catching Blake's as she takes a step back. 

Kali pulls into the driveway, and Yang squeezes her hand, flashing her a quick, soft smile. 

"I'll talk to you later." Blake tells her quietly, and Yang nods numbly with the most love-stricken look on her face.

Blake gives her hand one final squeeze, and their hands drop as she turns and walks down the porch stairs and towards her mother's car. 

She gives Yang one last glance as she opens the car door, gaze never leaving hers until she slips into the front passenger seat.

She fights the urge to pull her phone out the moment they leave, fingers curling tightly around the device, leg bouncing rapidly against the floor of the car. 

"Nervous?" Her mother asks, and Blake shrugs, trying to ignore the rapid beating of her heart in her chest.

"Something like that."

She practically runs up the stairs the moment she steps foot inside the house, flinging her bedroom door open and quickly pushing it shut behind her, flopping down onto her bed with a loud giggle. 

_She kissed Yang._

She finally pulls her phone out, opening her text messages and thumbing through her contacts until she finds Yang's.

**Yang**  
**December 18**  
**11:28 pm**

**Blake**  
Hey

 **Yang**  
hi

Seconds later, her phone lights up with an incoming call, vibrating insistently in her hands as Yang's profile picture fills her screen.

Blake smiles and hits accept.

\--

**Blake**  
**December 19**  
**10:04 am**

**Yang**  
hey are you busy today 

**Blake**  
When have I ever been busy

 **Yang**  
fair point  
so do you want to come over

 **Blake**  
Depends  
Do I get to kiss you

 **Yang**  
yes  
as much as you want 

**Blake**  
I'll be there in fifteen minutes

 **Yang**  
fuck yeah   
can't wait to get my well earned smooches 

**Blake**  
Don't push it honey 

\--

"Why are you so nervous?" 

Blake looked up from her phone and over at her mother, fingers idly tapping against the device in her hands. "I'm not nervous…"

Kali raised an eyebrow at her, obviously not convinced, and Blake sighed. "Okay so maybe I'm a little nervous."

"About what? Did something happen between you and Yang?"

Blake blushed, her fingers momentarily stilling in their mindless tapping. "Kind of? Look I'll tell you some other time, after we've figured everything out."

"Is everything okay between you two?" Kali asked as they turned onto the long, dirt road that led to the Xiao Long-Rose property. "Do I need to be worried?"

"Everything's fine mom," Blake's phone lit up with an incoming text, and she couldn't stop the small smile that slipped onto her face. 

"I promise."

\--

Blake's never been more nervous to knock on the Xiao Long-Rose's front door. 

She knows she has no reason to be, but she can't ignore the fast beating of her heart in her chest and the anxiety running deep within her veins. 

Despite the late-night phone call and their casual texts that morning, Blake's still nervous about seeing Yang face to face. 

She's never been nervous to see Yang, but then again, she's never _kissed_ her before. 

Blake glances behind herself, cheeks flushing at the sight of the mistletoe still hanging above the steps. 

She kissed Yang last night, and Yang had kissed her back. Whatever feelings they had towards each other were obviously mutual, but how deep did those feelings run?

She knew how she felt about Yang, but did Yang feel the _same_ way?

She turned her head back around as she heard footsteps approach and the doorknob turn, her hands tightening into fists at her side.

Her heartbeat increased tenfold as the door opened and she was greeted by the woman who had been consuming her thoughts for the past twelve hours. 

"Hi." Yang greeted, slightly breathless and her face tinted pink.

"Hey…"

Yang opened the door wider for her, and she stepped into the house, sighing at the warmth that washed over her as she escaped the cold outside.

Yang waited for her to take her shoes off in the threshold before hesitantly reaching out and grabbing her hand. Blake intertwined their fingers, lightly squeezing the blonde’s hand and giving her a shy smile. 

With a gentle tug, Yang was guiding Blake up the stairs, their hands tightly clasped in between them, and into her room, closing the door shut behind them. 

They were still for a small, brief moment, before Yang was reaching towards her and Blake was leaning closer, their mouths sliding together with ease. 

Yang's arms wrapped around her waist, dragging Blake closer, their bodies flush together as Yang starts to smile into the kiss. 

Just like last night, they have to pull away as Yang's grin grows too big for them to continue. The blonde's cheeks are flushed bright red, and her shoulders shake slightly as she struggles to hold back her joyful laughter.

"Are you going to do that every time we kiss?" Blake says with a small laugh, pressing their foreheads together. "You're lucky you're so cute."

"Sorry." Yang kisses her cheek sweetly, fingers flexing slightly against her lower back. "You know I can't help it."

They were quiet for a long moment after that, just holding each other close, arms wrapped tightly around each other, preparing themselves for the inevitable conversation that was to come. 

"So…" Blake spoke up, leaning back to look up at Yang, her hands sliding down from the blonde's shoulders to rest on her lower biceps. "We need to talk… about everything."

Yang nods, and together they sit down on her bed, and Blake grabs Yang's hand, interlacing their fingers together, the familiar feeling soothing her nerves.

"I like you." Yang says quietly, squeezing her hand tightly, and Blake's heart jumps inside her chest. "A lot... in a romantic way..."

"I like you too." Blake smiled, rubbing the back of Yang's hand with her thumb. "More than I've liked anyone in a very long time."

Blake turns her head to look at Yang, leaning their foreheads together, staring into those beautiful lilac eyes she had come to love. 

"There's another word I could call my feelings for you," Blake admits quietly, her voice so soft that she's not sure if Yang can hear her. "But I don’t know if I'm ready to say it yet."

_Love._

It's been so long since she could look at someone and say that she loved them, and even back then, that love had been tainted, used against her, used to harm her in ways she never thought it could. 

_'I love you,_ ' She wants to say, but knows deep down that she's not ready to, won't be for who knows how long. _'I love you so much.'_

"Then you don't have to say it yet." Yang whispers to her, brushing their noses together with a sweet smile. "Not until you're, _we're_ , both ready."

 _'I love you too.'_ Her eyes seemed to say, as soft and as gentle as ever. _'Even if we never say it, I love you.'_

One day, she'll be able to look at Yang say the words that have been building up inside of her for months, but for now, this is all she needs. 

A warm hand in hers, a strong arm around her waist, and a smiling mouth against her lips.

\--

"Does this mean we're dating?" Yang asked her later, twirling a loose strand of Blake's hair around her finger. "Cause I really hope this means we're dating."

"I guess it does," Blake whispers to her with a smile, curling closer to her warmth. "I can live with being your girlfriend."

Yang laughs and pulls her phone out of her pocket, opening up Blake's contact information and making a quick edit. 

"Did you really just add a heart next to my name?" Blake says, holding back a laugh. "Just when I thought you couldn't get dorkier…"

"Just you wait and see babe, I can get so much worse."

"Is it too late to rescind my confession? I'm starting to regret having a crush on you."

"No take-backs babe, you're stuck with me now."

And they wouldn't have it any other way.

\--

**Blake**  
**December 22**  
**9:08 am**

**Yang**  
hey do you want to come over   
i've been challenged to a gingerbread house building contest and as my girlfriend you are legally obligated to help me

 **Blake**  
Who challenged you

 **Yang**  
ruby and penny  
we do it every year and they always beat me

 **Blake**  
I'll be there in 15 minutes 

**Yang**  
really :)

 **Blake**  
Someone had to come defend your honor  
We're gonna kick their asses and prove we're better girlfriends than them

 **Yang**  
hell yeah

\--

The contest ends in a tie.

They ask Qrow to be the impartial judge, only for him to shrug and say he can't decide, too busy looking at something on his phone to give their carefully crafted gingerbread houses a second glance.

"Come on Uncle Qrow just pick one!" Ruby complained, latching onto her uncle's arm. "You can even ask Uncle Clover what he thinks if you can't decide."

"Alright that's enough outta you." Qrow pushed Ruby away with a glare, cheeks tinting pink. "Don't bring him into this."

"I'm gonna bring him into this."

"Just ask your dad later. Leave me and my boyfriend alone." 

"So we're totally gonna bother Uncle Clover right?" Ruby asked as Qrow left, ignoring the rude gesture he sent her way.

"I don't know Ruby." Blake shared a brief look with Yang, brushing their hands together underneath the table. "I think I'm okay with this outcome."

"You're only saying that cause you know our house is better than yours."

"I think your house is lovely." Penny leaned over, whispering to Yang. "You two did a good job."

"See Ruby, even your girlfriend thinks our house is better."

"I never said that. Our house is the clear winner." Penny's smile was too sweet, too pure for the devastating blow she just dealt to Yang's ego. "Better luck next year."

And they can't even begin to formulate a response to that. Arguing with Penny was surely a crime, even more so when she was clearly right and they were just too stubborn to admit it.

Ruby and Penny were the clear winners, but they all settle for it being a tie in the end.

\--

"Yang, sweetie, please no phones at the table."

Yang looked up at her father and then back down at the device in her hands and the text conversation she had pulled up. "Do I have to?"

"Yes." Tai set a plate down in front of Ruby, ruffling her hair as he walked by. "Now put it away."

"She's probably texting her girlfriend." Ruby said, reaching across the table for the maple syrup, glancing over at her sister with a teasing grin. "Tell Blake I said hi."

"Tell her yourself." Yang blushed, turning her phone off and setting it down on the table. "You have her number. Why does it always have to be me?"

"Cause she likes you more than me," Ruby said, tucking into her breakfast. "And I don't see you denying that she's your girlfriend."

"Well I would be lying to you if I did."

The words were out of her mouth almost immediately, and Yang mentally facepalmed. She couldn't even last two weeks without telling someone…

Ruby's fork clattered onto her plate, and her sister's chair scraped against the floor as she stood up and leaned into Yang's personal space. "Wait really?! You finally asked her out?!"

Yang nodded slowly, cringing away from Ruby's enthusiasm as Tai looked over at them. 

"You and Blake are dating? Since when?"

"Since the 19th…"

"Wow you couldn't even last a month before you told anyone?" Ruby said with a laugh, flopping back into her chair and continuing to eat her breakfast. "I think your gay disaster is showing."

"Shut up Ruby."

"You can't tell me what to do."

"Oh yeah-"

"Girls please wait until after breakfast before you try to kill each other."

"Sorry dad."

\--

Yang groaned, flopping backwards onto her bed as Blake's laugh lit up her room.

"Come on babe it's not that funny." Yang said, giggling despite herself, holding her phone closer to her ear so she could hear her girlfriend better. 

_"You're such a disaster, Yang."_

"I can't believe I couldn't even make it two week without telling anyone."

_"If it makes you feel better, I might have just accidentally told my parents like fifteen minutes ago."_

"Wait really?" Yang laughed, fiddling with a loose thread on the sleeve of her sweater. "Are we seriously that bad at keeping secrets?'

_"Yep. I literally walked into the kitchen and rambled about how cute you were for like five minutes without realizing my parents were in there."_

"Blake Belladonna, are you calling me cute?"

" _Babe you're the cutest person I've ever met."_

"Aw sweetheart that's adorable. You think I'm cute."

_"Please tell me this isn't going straight to your ego."_

"Oh it definitely is."

_"Goddammit."_

\--

**Yang is a bitch**  
**December 28**  
**12:05 pm**

**Yang**  
SAM GOT OUT

 **Ruby**  
WAIT WHAT

 **Yang**  
SHE'S FREE  
she escaped from the chicken pen

 **Blake**  
How did that happen

 **Yang**  
no idea  
i walked into the stables and she was just vibing in there on top of ember  
anyway wish me luck guys i gotta get her back to the coop

 **Blake**  
Bye babe  
It was nice knowing you

 **Ruby**  
Haha your girlfriend is going to get murdered by a chicken 

**Blake**  
My girlfriend is your sister  
Your sister is currently getting attacked by a chicken

 **Ruby**  
This isn't about me  
If Yang's dead that means I can have her room

 **Yang**  
wow ok  
nice to know you care about me sis

 **Ruby**  
I had no faith that you would survive 

**Blake**  
At least she's honest about it

 **Yang**  
i would like to remind everyone that sam is a chicken 

**Ruby**  
Yeah a chicken out for blood   
She's plotting against us

 **Blake**  
She's a chicken

 **Ruby**  
An evil chicken 

**Yang**  
literally just a chicken

\--

Blake and her parents go over to the Xiao Long-Rose's to celebrate New Years.

They all tease the pair of them the whole night, and by the time it's finally almost midnight, they've both been forced to make a hasty retreat out onto the porch to escape their families. 

It's freezing outside, a thick blanket of snow completely covering the ground, and Yang's glad she remembered to grab a jacket before they stepped out into the cold night air. 

Blake was tucked underneath her arm, pressed firmly against her side to stave off the ever-persistent chill that accompanied most Patch winters. 

Distantly, she can hear the tv in the living room, just barely loud enough to breach the walls of the house. They'll be starting the final countdown for the new year soon, one more minute according to a voice coming from inside. 

And Blake reaches up and curls a hand around the back of her neck, guiding her head downwards so she can press their foreheads together. 

"It's almost midnight…" Her girlfriend whispers into the space between them, breath warm against her face. 

Yang hums, her fingers drumming gently against Blake's lower back. "So it is…"

"Y'know, I've heard that it's tradition to kiss someone you like at midnight."

"Oh really?"

_30 seconds._

"We wouldn't want to break tradition, now would we?"

"Yeah…"

_10 seconds._

The sounds of people cheering fades into the background, and all Yang cares to comprehend is _Blake._

"Happy new year." Blake whispers against her lips, her smile wide and carefree. 

_'I love you.'_

Yang laughs quietly and kisses her again, heart beating fast inside of her chest.

Faintly, she can hear the sound of fireworks being set off in the distance, but they are nothing compared to the glorious blaze burning deep inside her soul.

_'I love you too.'_

\--

"Miss Xiao Long."

"Mr. Belladonna." Yang tried not to cower under the calculating stare of her girlfriend's father. "It's nice to see you, sir."

Ghira grunted, opening the door wider to let her in. "Blake, your gal pal is here!"

"Coming!"

"So," Ghira closed the door behind Yang and crossed his arms over his chest. "You and my daughter..."

Yang feels an interrogation incoming, and mentally prepares herself for a stern talking to, only for Blake to appear at the top of the stairs and interrupt it before it even starts.

"Dad, please don't threaten my girlfriend."

"I'm not doing anything." Ghira says, unfolding his arms and stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants. 

"It's my birthday. You can't harass my girlfriend on my birthday." Blake hops off of the last step when she reaches the bottom of the stairs, reaching out to grab Yang's hand and intertwine their fingers. "You can give her the shovel talk some other day."

Blake gives Yang's hand a gentle tug, pulling her up the steps and away from the intimidating man staring her down. 

"Leave your door open!" Ghira calls after them, and Yang nearly trips on the next step. "There will be no funny business happening in my house."

"Funny business…" Blake whispers under her breath, holding back a laugh. "Is that what they're calling it these days?"

Blake closes her bedroom door behind them anyway, winking at Yang mischievously. 

"I swear your dad is actually going to kill me." Yang sat down on Blake's bed and kicked off her shoes. "I mean all I've done is kiss his daughter a couple of times."

"A couple of times." Blake repeats, settling herself down in Yang's lap and curling her arms around her shoulders. "Care to make it a couple more?"

"Is this what your dad meant by funny business?" Yang wrapped her arms around Blake's waist, pressing their foreheads together. "I don't think he would appreciate me having his only daughter sitting in my lap."

"It's my birthday, and our one month anniversary." Blake pressed impossibly closer, burying her face in Yang's neck. "He can't tell me what to do."

"Speaking of birthdays," Yang slipped a hand into the front pocket of her jacket. "Do you want your present now or later?"

"You didn't have to get me anything."

"I wanted to." Yang slips a small package out of her pocket, holding it up between them. "Happy birthday."

And there are those three words that she wants Blake to know but can't gather the courage to say. 

_'I love you.'_ She wants to whisper to her, all soft and sweet and dripping with adoration. _'I love you, so much.'_

She settles for kissing Blake instead, barely managing to stifle the joyful laughter bubbling deep in her chest. 

Yang loves Blake, she loves her will all her heart.

Maybe one day, she'll actually be able to gather the courage to tell her.

\--

January ends, and the snow starts to melt, and with the rapidly approaching end of winter comes a holiday Yang had never been able to celebrate with someone before. 

Valentine's Day.

It'll be her first Valentine's Day with Blake, the first time she's ever had anyone to share the day with actually.

 _"You've never celebrated Valentine's Day with anyone?_ " Blake had said over the phone a week prior, disbelief evident in her voice.

_"Believe it or not Blakey, you're the first person I've ever dated."_

_"Well then we'll just have to make this year extra special."_

Blake plans the whole evening, no doubt with a little help from Ruby and Weiss, and they end up going to a nice restaurant in town for dinner, after which Blake takes her to Patch's old theater to see a movie. 

The only movie that's playing is some old rom-com that Yang doesn't quite remember the name of, but the theatre is nearly empty, so they sit in the very back and talk to each other the entire time without fear of bothering anyone. 

It's so much like the day they first became friends, when Blake had come over to watch some movie with Ruby and Yang had joined them. 

Except this time, instead of being practical strangers, they were _girlfriends_ , out on a date for Valentine's day.

It was their first Valentine's day together, and Yang hoped with all her heart that it wouldn’t be the last.

\--

**Blake**  
**February 20**  
**2:07 am**

**Yang**  
hey babe are you awake

 **Blake**  
Yes  
This better not be another one of your weird 2 am questions

 **Yang**  
nevermind then 

**Blake**  
What was it this time

 **Yang**  
do dogs think in barks  
like are barks and growls and shit their thoughts

 **Blake**  
Yang  
It is 2 am  
Why are you thinking about this

 **Yang**  
i do not control my random thoughts   
but seriously do dogs think in barks

 **Blake**  
I'm going back to bed

 **Yang**  
wait babe no  
blakey sweetheart please don't leave me on read  
i'm taking your silence as a yes dogs think in barks

 **Blake**  
Why am I dating you

 **Yang**  
cause you like me :)  
admit it blake you think i'm cute

 **Blake**  
You're cute  
But you'd be even cuter if you went to sleep

 **Yang**  
oh well would you look at the time goodnight sweetheart <3

 **Blake**  
Goodnight Yang <3

\--

The end of February rapidly approaches, and with it comes warmer air and more activity.

Specifically, more activity from Samara the chicken. 

"Motherfucker!"

Yang looks up just in time to see Qrow haul himself over the fence and away from the suddenly enraged chicken, now the latest of Sam's albeit short list of victims.

She elbowed Blake gently in the side and pointed over at the scene, holding back a laugh. "Told you she'd get one of us someday."

"Well I'll be," Blake leaned into her side, ears flicking. "She really is as vicious as you guys say."

"You doubted us?"

Blake rolled her eyes, fiddling with the sleeve of Yang's jacket. "I have reason to believe that you and your sister have a tendency to be overdramatic."

"We do not!"

"Yes, you do." Qrow piped up, dusting himself off and glaring at his assailant. "We're all a little dramatic around here."

"See Blake, it's just our country charm."

"It's definitely not." Her uncle called back, an amused smirk on his face. "You're just weird."

"Shut up Uncle Qrow, no one asked you."

"Whatever you say, firecracker."

\--

The air gets colder as the day turns to night, and Yang once again presses her jacket into Blake's arms and insists she takes it with her when she leaves. 

"I know how cold you get, honey." Yang held her jacket open as Blake slipped her arms through the sleeves. "You can give it back to me later."

"Only if you're lucky." Blake fiddled briefly with the sleeves, leaning heavily into Yang's side. "I might as well just start a collection of all the jackets you've let me 'borrow' from you."

"Is that where all my jackets have gone? Have you been stealing them?"

"In my defense they're your jackets and really comfortable."

Yang laughed, tightening her arm around Blake and leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Y'know, you're the only one who can get away with stealing my clothes."

"Oh really? Why's that?"

"Cause you're my girlfriend." Yang said quietly, smiling softly. "And I love you."

Blake stills underneath her arm, and it dawns upon Yang what she had just said. 

_I love you._

They had never said it before, no matter how many times they had wanted to in the past couple of weeks, they had never spoken the words aloud.

And then Blake turned to look up at her, eyes wide with awe, and her mouth quirked upwards into a cute little smile.

"I love you too."

Yang stares for a small moment before her shoulders start to shake with joyous laughter, and Blake's reaching up to thread her fingers into her hair to kiss her until she can't think anymore.

She doesn't think about how Blake is due to leave in a couple of weeks, or what will happen to them if she does. She doesn't think about the past, or their future together. 

She thinks about the present, where she stands on the front porch with Blake, wrapped up in her arms, whispering sweet nothings between kisses to fill what little space exists in between them. 

Yang stands there, on the porch, with the woman she loves, and thinks of nothing else.


	4. Spring

Spring comes earlier than usual that year, and March starts with a sudden heatwave that melts the last of the snow and leaves Yang regretting not buying a new fan last time she went to town.

"How the hell is it so hot?" She complained to Blake while they're out on the porch one evening. "I'm melting."

Blake laughed, leaning into Yang's side and pressing a quick kiss against her cheek. "It's not that bad, babe."

"It was literally snowing three weeks ago." Yang grumbled, glaring up at the sky. "It wasn't even this warm in the summer. How are you not dying right now?"

"I was born in Menagerie, Yang. This is nothing compared to what it's normally like there."

"I swear to god if it doesn't cool down by the end of the week I'm moving to Atlas."

"Oh don't be so dramatic."

"I'm literally dying."

"You're not dying."

"I'm dying."

\--

**Yang is a bitch**  
**March 5**  
**12:04 pm**

**Ruby**  
Do either of you know how to count  
Or like at least basic math

 **Blake**  
No

 **Yang**  
absolutely not

 **Ruby**  
Fuck

 **Yang**  
hey language ruby  
we say frick not fuck in this household

 **Ruby**  
I'm 22  
I'm an adult why can't I swear

 **Blake**  
Cause we said so  
No cuss words for you

 **Ruby**  
I hate you guys so much 

**Yang**  
lies you love us  
wait why are you asking if we know how to count

 **Ruby**  
Me and Weiss are having an argument about math and I don't know if I can win it on my own

 **Yang**  
is this what college kids do for fun

 **Ruby**  
Sadly  
This is what happens when I don’t get enough sleep

 **Blake**  
Weird I never had any math debates when I was in college  
Ruby does this mean you're a nerd

 **Ruby**  
NO

 **Yang**  
haha ruby's a fucking nerd   
what a loser

 **Ruby**  
I'M NOT A NERD

 **Blake**  
Says the girl literally having an argument about math right now

 **Ruby**  
I didn't come here to get bullied by my sister and her girlfriend 

**Yang**  
haha blake look at this nerd  
point and laugh

 **Ruby**  
I can't believe this

**(Blake renamed the chat Ruby bullying zone)**

**Ruby**  
I fucking hate you two

 **Yang**  
hey what did we say about cursing   
watch your fucking language

 **Ruby**  
I'm leaving you guys suck

 **Blake**  
Have fun with your math debate nerd

 **Ruby**  
I hate it here

\--

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see." 

Blake sighed, shaking her head fondly at her girlfriend. "Does it have anything to do with the picnic basket you're currently holding?"

"Maybe…"

"Are we going on a picnic?"

Yang flashed her a quick bright smile, squeezing her hand and continuing to lead her further onto the Xiao Long-Rose property.

"I don't think I've ever been back here before." Blake said once they finally stopped walking, glancing around the expansive, yet empty field.

"Me and Ruby don’t really come back here that often." Yang said, getting to work laying the blanket out on the ground. "Too long of a walk."

"A fifteen minute walk is too long for you?"

"Hush Blake, I'm concentrating."

"On laying a blanket on the ground?" Blake rolled her eyes, sitting down on the blanket next to Yang after she'd gotten it situated. "Really difficult stuff, babe."

"Y'know when I originally planned this date there was a lot less teasing involved." Yang said, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing her cheek. "You're lucky I love you so much."

Blake's heart skips a beat inside her chest, and Yang laughs at the blush on her face.

"Aw is someone embarrassed?" Yang dropped her chin onto Blake's shoulder, pressing a kiss against her lower jaw. "Am I embarrassing you, honey?"

"Shut up…"

"You're so cute when you blush." Yang whispered, nuzzling her neck. "Maybe I should tease you more often."

"I thought you said this date didn't include teasing?"

"I think I can let a few instances slide…"

\--

Yang weaves her a flower crown out of nearby wildflowers.

"How the hell do you even know how to make these?" Blake asked with a giggle as Yang settled the crown on her head, careful to avoid snagging it on one of her ears. 

"Pyrrha taught me and Ruby how in middle school." Yang explained, brushing a loose strand of hair behind Blake's ear. "I think she learned how from Jaune, but he'd never admit to that."

"Think you could teach me how, sunshine?"

"Sunshine." Yang repeated, her smile widening. "That's a new one."

"Is it… bad?"

"No," Yang whispered softly, leaning in to kiss her sweetly. "Not at all. I like it a lot, actually."

"Well then I'll make sure to say it more often."

\--

The temperature outside starts to take a plunge as the sun sets, and Blake leaves the farm with another one of Yang's jackets. 

_"Are you gonna bring this one back?"_ Yang had asked her with a teasing smile, adjusting the jacket around her shoulders before leaning in to kiss her.

 _"I make no promises."_ Blake had whispered back, curling a hand around the blonde's neck to drag her in for another kiss. _"I'll see you later."_

"Whose coat is that?" Ghira asked her when she stepped through the front door, looking up from the book he was reading in the living room.

"It's Yang's." Blake said, blushing and shoving her hands deep into the jacket's pockets. "It got a little cold and she let me borrow it."

"Oh so you're gonna give this one back and not any of the other ones you've 'borrowed' over the last couple of months." Kali called from down the hall, no doubt smirking. "What makes this one so special?"

"Shut up." Blake groaned, yanking the jacket's hood over her head to hide her flushed cheeks. 

"Relax sweetheart," Ghira said with a chuckle, returning to his book. "We're just teasing. It's nice to see that you've found someone that makes you happy."

"Yeah…" Blake's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she read Yang's text. "I love her, a lot."

"And that's all that matters." Kali said, appearing at her side with a hand on her shoulder, smiling warmly. "You should bring her over again some time. I'd love to show her all of your baby pictures."

"Yeah I'll add that to the list of things I'm definitely not going to do."

"She'll see them one day, Blake. It'll either be here or on the day of your wedding."

"Goodnight guys, love you!"

\--

Springtime in Patch meant a lot of rain and storms, but Yang had never really paid them much attention. 

At least, she didn't until she found out that Blake was scared of thunderstorms. 

"Sweetheart?" Yang whispers as quietly as she can, and Blake jumps when Yang's hand brushes her shaking shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Blake says, voice cracking slightly. "I just… really hate storms…"

"Is there anything I can do?" Yang asks, ever the giver, and Blake shifts under the blankets. 

In the morning, she'll tell Yang about Adam, about the night she left him and how it had stormed, and how the streets of Vale provided little shelter from the rain for her and the bleeding stab wound in her hip. 

"Can you just… hold me?"

And Yang opens her arms and Blake curls up against her, burying her face into the crook of her neck, slowly drifting off to sleep. 

Yang would do anything for this girl, even if it meant losing a little bit of sleep just to bring her some comfort on a stormy night.

\--

**Ruby bullying zone**  
**March 19**  
**12:43 pm**

**Yang**  
WE GOT A BABY

 **Ruby**  
WHAT

 **Yang**  
WE GOT A LITTLE FOAL  
[bumblebee.jpg]

 **Ruby**  
OH MY GOD  
so wittle,,,

 **Yang**  
her name is bumblebee and i love her

 **Blake**  
Awe she's so cute

 **Yang**  
i'd die for this little baby  
i will protect her with my life

 **Ruby**  
Wait why am I just hearing about this  
How'd we even get her

 **Yang**  
her mother died and they couldn't take care of her anymore  
it's been so long so i've bottle fed a foal  
is this what motherhood feels like  
am i a mom now

 **Ruby**  
That's it I'm clearing my schedule and coming to visit this weekend

 **Blake**  
Weren't you already going to visit this weekend

 **Ruby**  
Shhh Blake that was just to see my family and girlfriend or whatever but now it's to see a baby horse

 **Blake**  
Wait I have special girlfriend privileges   
I'm going to get to see her before you 

**Ruby**  
Wait no that's not fair

 **Yang**  
sucks to be you ruby  
that's what you get for going to college and getting an education

 **Ruby**  
Yang you're illiterate   
What gives you the right to bully me about going to college

 **Yang**  
i can read

 **Blake**  
No you can't  
I literally watched you stare at a sign for 15 minutes yesterday because you couldn't figure out what it said

 **Yang**  
wow ok  
are you really going to hold that against me

 **Blake**  
It was one of the saddest things I've ever seen

 **Ruby**  
Haha you can't read

 **Yang**  
i don't need to know how to read to get through life ruby  
reading is for smart people

 **Blake**  
My girlfriend is an absolute dumbass and I love her

 **Ruby**  
Yang you just admitted to being illiterate and called yourself an idiot  
How were you at the top of your class in high school

 **Yang**  
no idea  
weiss is still pissed about it

 **Ruby**  
I would be too if you were the one to score higher than me on every test  
You did not deserve honor roll

 **Yang**   
can’t believe i was voted most likely to succeed and then immediately dropped out of high school  
love that for me

 **Blake**  
You did everyone at that school a favor  
They wouldn’t be able to handle your genius babe

 **Ruby**  
Please don’t encourage her 

\--

Yang leaned against the fence, smiling at a quietly cooing Blake, watching the farm's newest little addition wander curiously around the paddock.

"She's so cute…" 

"Ember's practically adopted her." Yang said, nodding over at the tall buckskin mare standing a couple of feet away from the playing foal. "She hardly lets Bumblebee out of her sight."

They watched on as Bumblebee spotted a butterfly a couple feet away, stumbling over to it on shaky legs and attempting to chase it around the paddock when it started to fly away.

"Ruby's going to kill you for letting me see her first, isn't she."

"Yep."

"Absolutely tragic."

\--

**Ruby bullying zone**  
**March 21**  
**8:06 am**

**Ruby**  
Where's the baby

 **Yang**  
what

 **Ruby**  
I'm 15 minutes away where's the baby

 **Blake**  
Ruby what do you mean you're 15 minutes away  
You're supposed to be at college until this afternoon

 **Ruby**  
Where's the baby 

**Yang**  
ruby you can't drive how are you 15 minutes away

 **Ruby**  
That's not important 

**Yang**  
some would say that's very important 

**Ruby**  
Pyrrha came to pick up Weiss so they could spend the weekend together and I hitched a ride  
Where's the baby

 **Blake**  
How the hell did you convince Weiss to let you do that

 **Ruby**  
She loves me   
We're best friends 

**Blake**  
Nice try  
What actually happened 

**Ruby**  
I promised to not snitch on her to our RA for sneaking out yesterday 

**Yang**  
wait weiss snuck out  
i didn't know she had it in her  
what was she doing 

**Ruby**  
I don't know what you're talking about  
Where's the baby

 **Yang**  
so wait you ditched college so you could come see a foal

 **Ruby**  
Yes  
I was visiting this weekend anyway  
Where's the baby

 **Blake**  
She's in the paddock with Gambol 

**Ruby**  
How do you know that  
Yang why does she know that

 **Yang**  
um

 **Ruby**  
Yang please tell me this isn't what I think it is

 **Blake**  
It is

 **Ruby**  
Hush Belladonna I need to hear about this betrayal from my sister herself  
But thank you for being honest

 **Yang**  
what did you expect me not to see blake for two days

 **Ruby**  
Yes

 **Yang**  
you have very high expectations of me

 **Ruby**  
I can't believe this

 **Blake**  
I can 

**Ruby**  
I wish I was an only child

 **Yang**  
ouch :(

 **Ruby**  
I'm coming to see Bumblebee and then spending the weekend with Penny  
I can't sleep in the same house as this traitor 

**Blake**  
Sucks to be you

 **Ruby**  
What happened to us Blake  
You used to be on my side when it came to bullying Yang  
Why can't we go back to the good ol days

 **Blake**  
Well I wasn't kissing your sister in the good ol days now was I 

**Yang**  
haha get fucked ruby

 **Ruby**  
Wow  
I regret letting you two become friends

 **Yang**  
you're just jealous  
my girlfriend is cuter than your girlfriend 

**Ruby**  
N O  
YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW

 **Yang**  
never  
blake's really hot

 **Blake**  
Aw thanks babe you're hot too

 **Ruby**  
Y'all are gross I'm gonna vomit

 **Yang**  
do it weiss will be so mad if you throw up in pyrrha's truck 

**Ruby**  
You have 5 minutes to take back what you said about Penny or I'm going to make my only child dreams come true

 **Yang**  
no <3

 **Ruby**  
Your days are numbered

\--

"Now what do we have here?"

"This isn't what it looks like-"

"I don't know Blakey," Yang said, crossing her arms with a smug smile. "To me it kind of looks like you're cuddling with Zwei right now."

Blake glared down at the little dog curled up in her lap. "These are unauthorized cuddles."

"Admit it," Yang sat down next to her on the couch and tossed an arm around her shoulders. "You think he's adorable."

"He's awful and I hate him."

"And yet you don't have to heart to wake him up." 

"He's sleeping." Blake grumbled, absent-mindedly petting Zwei. "If he's asleep, he can't bother me."

"Whatever you say, sweetheart."

\--

"Whatcha doing?"

Blake glanced up from her laptop and down at the woman curled up against her side. "Writing..."

Yang hummed, dropping her head down onto Blake's shoulder, closing her eyes and snuggling closer. "Do you want me to move?"

"What?"

"Am I distracting you?" Yang peeked an eye open, fingers fiddling with the hem of Blake's shirt. "From your work?"

"No, you're fine." Blake whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to Yang's forehead. "It's kind of nice actually."

"So you wouldn't mind if I took a nap right now?"

"Not at all, sunshine." 

\--

"I love your freckles."

Blake's fingers graze the tops of Yang's cheeks, brushing over the bridge of her nose, mapping out the freckles strewn across her skin. 

"Really?"

"Yeah," Blake smiled to herself, hand shifting to cup Yang's cheek, pressing closer to her on the couch. "They're cute, but then again, the rest of you is pretty cute too."

"Aw you think I'm cute. You're really cute too-"

"I swear to god if I have to sit through another five minutes of this I'm moving to Atlas." Qrow grumbled, glaring at them from the kitchen. "Get a room already.'

"No one's making you live here, Uncle Qrow."

"God I hate teenagers."

"We're in our twenties."

"Close enough."

\--

“Yang I swear to god if you come any closer I’m going to spray you with the hose.”

"Aw come on Blakey," Yang grinned, holding back a laugh as she took a slow step closer to her girlfriend, hands outstretched towards her. "It's just a little dirt."

Blake held the hose out towards her threateningly, one hand coming up to cover her grin. "I thought you promised you wouldn't get me dirty when I agreed to help you in the garden."

"Weird, I don't remember making that promise."

"Yang-"

Yang darted forward, wrapping her arms around the back of Blake's thighs and lifting her up, finally letting the playful laughter that had been building in her chest out at her girlfriend's startled shriek. 

"Yang!" Blake curled her arms around Yang's broad shoulders to steady herself, her laugh loud and bright despite the glare on her face. "You asshole!"

Yang laughed, shifting her grip on Blake's thighs and tilting her chin upwards to kiss her sweetly. "You love me."

"Yeah, I do." Blake whispered, before snorting and shifting a hand to rub at Yang's cheek. "How did you get this much dirt on you?"

Yang rolled her eyes, setting Blake back down onto the ground and intertwining their fingers. "I'm not that dirty."

"You're taking a shower when we get back to the house."

"It's not that bad."

"You're filthy."

\--

Blake's sprawled out on Yang's bed half asleep by the time she finishes her shower.

"Aw is someone tired?" Yang says teasingly, draping her towel around her neck and stretching her arms over her head. "Did all that hard farm work make you sleepy?"

"Shut up." Blake yawned, untangling herself from the blanket and standing up, drifting over to Yang and pressing up against her side. "You're warm…"

Blake’s fingers curled into her towel, rising up onto her tippy toes as she tugged gently, requesting a kiss.

"Gosh you're tiny." Yang said, curling her arm around Blake's waist before leaning down to kiss her. 

"I'm not that short." Blake grumbled when they separated, leaning her head against Yang's shoulder. "You're just tall."

"So small." Yang said playfully, looking down at her girlfriend with a smile. "I practically have to break my back to kiss you."

"Why am I dating you again?"

"Cause you love me."

"And you're so lucky that I do."

\--

"So we need to have a talk."

"About what?" Yang asked, sitting down across from her father at the kitchen table for breakfast.

"It's about you and Blake." Tai said, holding his hands up defensively at the look Yang sent his way. "It's nothing bad, I promise."

"Then what is it?"

"If I have to walk in here and see you making out with your girlfriend one more time I'm gonna lose it."

Yang chokes on her drink as her father stares at her, obliviously unimpressed.

"Um-"

"Please, just remember I live here too." Tai said, cutting her off and picking up his newspaper to read it. "That's all I ask."

"I'll keep that in mind." Yang mumbled, cheeks burning. "Sorry for the inconvenience…"

"There are some things a father never wants to see."

"Dad-"

"His daughter's tongue down her girlfriend's throat is one of them."

"Ok dad I get it."

\--

"Hey Blake-"

Blake holds a finger up to her mouth, silently asking her mother to be quiet. Yang lays curled up against her on the couch, fast asleep and lightly snoring, tired from helping Kali in her garden earlier that day.

Blake had been suspicious when Kali first brought up the idea of Yang helping with the garden, knowing that her mother wouldn't hesitate to embarrass her. 

And Kali smirks at her, and Blake knows she'll be teased relentlessly for this later, more so than she was when Yang had offered to help Kali in the garden in the first place.

But then Yang cuddles closer, face pressed into the side of her neck, and Blake knows the inevitable teasing she'll receive later will be worth it if it means she can hold this beautiful, wonderful woman for a little while longer. 

\--

Yang almost forgot Blake was supposed to leave at the end of Spring. 

Keyword : Almost. 

"I don't think I'm going to be leaving." Blake whispers to her one night while they're lying together in Yang's bed. "My parents haven't brought it up in months, and I haven't done anything to prepare…"

Yang swallows heavily, ignoring the dread building in her chest. "Do you… do you want to go back to Vale?"

"No, I don't think I could ever live in that city, not after everything that happened to me there," Blake says almost immediately, hands curling into fists. "But, I can't keep living with my parents forever. I need to move out at some point."

"I didn't have a job in the city, he… he said I couldn't work because I had him and that was all I needed."

Blake sighed, and Yang reached out to intertwine their fingers. 

"I'll… I'll figure something out." Blake says, squeezing her hand. "I'll talk to my parents later, figure out a way to stay."

And Yang will always be there to support her, no matter what happens. 

\--

Blake doesn't end up leaving.

“Wait what?” Yang whispered breathlessly the next day, her heart racing in her chest as she stared at her smiling girlfriend.

“I’m staying,” Blake said, her smile growing wider by the second. "Here, in Patch. I'm not going back to Vale. My parents said I could stay with them till I find somewhere in town to live."

"You're staying." 

"Yes Yang." Blake repeated, holding back a giggle as Yang started to grin. "I'm staying."

Yang laughed, the bright and happy sound music to Blake's ears as strong arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her into the air to spin her around.

"Yang!" Blake giggled, rolling her eyes as she curled her arms tightly around Yang's shoulders. "This is so unnecessary!"

"I'm sorry!" Yang said with a grin, setting her back down on the ground slowly. "I'm just really happy."

"God you're adorable." Blake whispered, cupping Yang's cheek and pressing their foreheads together. "I love you so much."

"I love you too."

\--

It's not until Blake's crossing out the date on her calendar that she realizes just how long she's lived in Patch. 

It had been almost eleven months since she left Vale, and she barely noticed time passing at all. 

She glanced down at the bottom of the calendar, her ears tilting back when she saw the 31st of May circled in red pen. 

She'd lived in Patch for a year. 

May 31st would have been the day she left, if she had kept her old plan from so many months ago. 

So much had changed since she first moved, and she wasn't the same Blake she was eleven months ago. 

Her hair was shorter, her face fuller, her eyes brighter. She looked younger, happier, free.

The seasons had changed, and so did she.

Blake had never felt more like herself. 

\--

**Ruby bullying zone**  
**May 21**  
**12:08 pm**

**Ruby**  
So uh guess who's getting married  
[ring.jpg]

 **Yang**  
RUBY OH MY GOD WAIT WHAT 

**Ruby**  
I'm engaged   
Anyways I'm gonna go kiss my fiance now bye

 **Blake**  
Ruby get your ass back here and tell us everything   
You can't just say that and leave

 **Ruby**  
Penny took me out to dinner at some fancy restaurant in the city to celebrate me passing all my finals and she proposed :)

 **Yang**  
my baby sister is getting married   
i'm crying  
like deadass in tears rn

 **Ruby**  
Blake is she actually

 **Blake**  
Yeah she's crying 

**Ruby**  
Nice  
Haha Yang I have a wife and you don't 

**Yang**  
oh my god don't you start  
this chat is named the ruby bullying zone for a reason 

**Ruby**  
Wow are you really going to bully me   
I just got engaged 

**Blake**  
You get 24 hours of freedom from harassment   
But after that we can bully you again

 **Yang**  
your days are numbered little sister

 **Ruby**  
Wow ok you two are no longer invited to the wedding <3

 **Yang**  
fuck you too ruby

 **Blake**  
If we make it 48 hours of no bullying can we go

 **Ruby**  
Yes

 **Yang**  
fuck yeah  
ruby we're gonna crash your wedding

 **Ruby**  
Wait no  
Don't you dare

 **Blake**  
You can't stop us 

\--

Ruby graduates from college that year. 

They all go to Vale to watch the graduation, and it's strange, being back in the city after being away for a year.

"I forgot how loud it was." Blake says to Yang as she stares up at all of the tall buildings surrounding Beacon Academy's courtyard. 

"Do you miss it?" Yang asked curiously, leaning into her side. 

"Absolutely not. I have no idea how I ever managed to sleep here."

She thinks about when she first arrived in Patch, how hard it had been to fall asleep without the bustling noise of the city she was accustomed to. 

It's weird, looking back, to think that she could have ever fallen asleep to anything that wasn't the sound of crickets outside or Yang's quiet snores beside her.

She sits in between Yang and Penny during the ceremony, her arm curled around her girlfriend's waist, leaning into her side as the dean walked on stage to give a speech. 

And then when Weiss walks out to receive her diploma, she and Yang cheer as loud as possible, just to see the harsh glare she shoots their way. 

She can see Pyrrha sitting a couple of rows in front of them, laughing to herself at their antics.

Penny practically tackles Ruby in a hug when the ceremony ends, sweeping her fiance off of her feet and twirling her around. 

"They grow up so fast." Yang said dramatically, wiping away a fake tear. "It seems like only yesterday she was learning how to walk."

"Yeah, and now she has a fiancé and a college degree." 

"Makes me feel old."

"That's cause you are old!" Ruby called from her fiancé's arms, sticking her tongue out at her older sister.

"Oh you better take that back you little shit-"

"Girls," Tai sighed disappointedly, shaking his head at his daughters. "Can we save the fighting for when we get home?"

The duo ignore him, pulling away from their significant others to continue their mock argument, and Tai looks on in distress.

"Those are my children. I raised them."

"Hey look on the bright side," Qrow gestured at Penny and Blake. "Your future in-laws aren't dumbasses like your daughters."

_Future in-laws._

Qrow had included Blake. He deemed her worthy of his niece. 

And he pats Blake on the back as he walks past her to join his nieces, winking as he slung an arm around Yang's shoulders and ruffled Ruby's hair. 

They considered her a member of the family. 

\--

**Ruby bullying zone**  
**June 4**  
**2:43 pm**

**Ruby**  
[getfucked.jpg]

 **Yang**  
did you seriously just send a picture of your diploma to flex on us

 **Ruby**  
Maybe

 **Blake**  
Was it necessary to also include your engagement ring in the photo

 **Ruby**  
Of course   
How else would I assert my dominance as a college graduate AND a future wife on you losers  
Get on my level

 **Yang**  
hold on i can do one of those real quick   
hey blake

 **Blake**  
You're not allowed to propose to me over text

 **Yang**  
nevermind  
wait does that mean you'll accept if i propose outside of text

 **Blake**  
Mayhaps

 **Ruby**  
Wait no

 **Yang**  
hey babe what's your ring size

 **Blake**  
5.5

 **Ruby**  
What is happening   
Am I going to have to speedrun my wedding 

**Yang**  
bitch maybe

\--

Yang gives Blake a promise ring the next time they see each other.

 _"It's not an engagement ring."_ Yang tells her when she pulls the box out of her pocket and sees the way Blake's ears perk up. _"Not yet at least… it's a promise ring."_

Blake lets Yang slide it onto her left ring finger anyway, thinks about how one day it'll be replaced by an engagement ring, and smiles against Yang's lips.

Ruby nearly freaks out when she sees it, and Blake has to explain it to her before an impromptu wedding is scheduled.

Ruby hugs her anyway, whispering in her ear. "I can't wait for you to become my sister-in-law."

"The feeling is mutual." Blake whispers back, swallowing heavily and blinking back happy tears.

She couldn't wait to officially be a part of this family. 

\--

Waking up next to Yang never failed to make Blake smile. 

A strong arm thrown around her wait, long legs intertwined with her own, a face pressed into the crook of her neck. 

Blake always woke up before Yang did, savoring the peaceful moment for as long as she could, fingers tracing the bridge of her nose, dancing across the freckles littering her cheeks and brushing across smooth skin.

Yang stirred beneath her fingers, tightening her grip around Blake's waist and cuddling closer with a groan. "Honey?"

"Morning sunshine." Blake whispered, pressing a kiss against Yang's forehead. 

"What time is it?" Yang mumbled, burrowing further into her side. 

Blake glanced behind herself at the alarm clock sitting on Yang's nightstand, careful as to not dislodge the woman pressed against her. "It's 7:08."

"Too early…"

"Sweetheart, it's time to get up." Blake curled her arms around Yang's shoulders, threading her fingers into her hair. "I'm gonna go downstairs to make some tea. Do you want anything?"

"Coffee please…" Yang's grip around her loosened, and Blake slipped out from underneath the covers, standing up with a stretch and a tired yawn.

"I love you…" Yang whispered, reaching out to grab her hand, smiling as she gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I love you too."

Blake opened the door as quietly as possible, slipping out of Yang's room and down the stairs to the kitchen.

She was momentarily surprised to find Penny standing by the stove, wide awake and humming quietly to herself as she opened a cabinet to look for a mug.

"Good morning." Blake greeted, walking past her to grab the kettle and fill it with water for her morning tea. "Is Ruby up yet?"

"Yes, but she's looking for her glasses." Penny slides her a box of tea packets, the tea that only existed in the house for Blake, from beside the coffee maker, smiling warmly at her without saying another word. 

Tai does a double-take when he comes downstairs and sees the pair of them standing in the kitchen. "Hello, people who don't live in my house."

"Hello."

"Goodmorning."

"I'm just going to assume that my daughters invited their significant others to spend the night without telling me and move on with my day." 

"A wise decision." Penny says, handing him a cup of coffee, and he sits down at the kitchen table with a heavy sigh.

"If Qrow walks in here with Clover, I'm going back to bed."

And when Qrow does show up for his morning cup of coffee, Clover isn't with him, and Tai's sigh of relief could be heard throughout the whole house.

\--

"Did you ever think that this was where you'd be one day?" Yang asks Blake later that day, after all their work is done. "Standing next to some paddock on a farm in the middle of nowhere, watching a baby horse try to figure out what grass is."

"Absolutely not," Blake shifted closer to her girlfriend and grabbed her hand, warm fingers sliding against cool metal. "But then again young Blake wasn't very good at making predictions."

She had made so many decisions in her life, some good, some bad, and some absolutely disastrous.

But it was some of those decisions that led to where she was today, standing next to Yang, on a farm in the middle of nowhere, with a ring on her finger and warmth in her heart. 

"Do you think she'd like where she ended up?" Yang asked her quietly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

And Blake looked out across the paddock, at the grazing horses enjoying the fresh spring air, at the little foal stumbling around with wide, curious eyes, then back at the woman she loved, the love of her life, smiling at the content grin on her face.

"Yeah, I think she would."


End file.
